Loss of Innocence
by PottermeetsCullen
Summary: Based on the first Twilight novel. How will a young vivacious city girl full of promiscuity and experience be received by a certain vampire coven when she moves to Forks? Will her thoughts push Edward over the edge?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a bright and sunny late August morning, as I climbed into my parents Toyota Prius. I was squished in between numerous suitcases and bags, and was beginning to feel very claustrophobic, in realizing that a long drive was ahead. My parents climbed into the front seats of the vehicle, and reversed it down the tree shaded driveway. Thus our journey began.

My parents worked in a plantation business, which centered on growing environmentally friendly java beans. The centre where they met with other pro fair trade coffee-goers had recently been relocated to Seattle, Washington.

So here we were, Vancouverites through and through, on our way to live in the states. This wasn't so bad, or so I had though, at first. But then came the news that the house we had wanted in Seattle had been taken off the market, and we were stuck with living in Forks now, a tiny rainy _town _outside of the high rise infested and beautified _city_. I detested the idea of actually living a small town. The idea revolted me, all I could think of were middle aged middle classed farmers and their wives, taking up multiple seats in the nearest McDonalds, discussing the latest results on reality TV, and polishing their riffles.

"Alex, we'll be near the border soon, so you should probably text your friends' goodbye now, so you can turn off your phone until we get a new plan for it." My mom said, with a tentative smile in my direction. Both my parents had been slightly cautious towards me for the past few days. They knew that I wasn't exactly looking forward to moving to a small town in the U.S, and yet they hadn't let me stay here by myself! Okay, so I was a bit young to be living without parents, but I had always been responsible, sort of. When I had even broached the topic of living at my friend's, or my 19 year old sister's place, they had laughed, not even taking me seriously. And I was very serious about it; I knew nothing good would come out of me being relocated to Forks.

Still, I consented, and pulled out my Samsung slide phone. I typed for a couple minutes, and came up with as much of a non-cynical composition as I could manage.

I quickly inserted the names of a few of my friends from my contact book, and tapped my finger on the touch screen "send" button. I turned off my phone with any degree of permanence for the first time in my life.

"Oh", continued my mom, after a few minutes, "I have you signed up for Forks' high school, and I got an e-mail from the administration office there. They have everything figured out, so you can start there just like every other student on the 3rd. I printed out a list of the materials you will need and the recommended electives."

She handed me a sheet of paper, covered with text about binders and text books, and a miniature map in the bottom corner to find the school. I doubted it would be too difficult to locate – everything there would probably be just off the highway.

I had paid attention to how my mom was delivering these sentences; trying to place me in with all the other students. Like one of the many. She had always been like that, encouraging my sister and me to stick up for ourselves, but not to claim the spotlight all the time. Naturally, we had rebelled slightly from this, both of us enjoying attention from people – especially those of the opposite sex.

"The 3rd?" I asked, not even attempting to hide the disdain in my soprano voice. "That's two weeks earlier than Waldorf".

"Oh, but you'll be so ahead of all your old friends in academics then," said my dad, grinning at me in the rearview mirror.

To say he was thrilled at us moving was an understatement. He had always dreamed of moving to a town or the country, so he was ecstatic – something I couldn't comprehend to any miniscule degree. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that the people I had known and loved my whole like would now be christened my "old friends".

That's how the remainder of the ride was spent. My parents occasionally commenting on trivial things such as the flat dung-obscured scenery or how the music blaring from the iPod dock (courtesy of me) was obnoxious. The journey was only a few hours long, and having driven to California every year, I had endured much worse. We didn't stray from the highway often, and the flat, black 6 lane expanse of concrete was easier to stomach than the winding roads farther south.

I resurfaced from "Interview with the Vampire" when a small kelly green dirt splattered sign caught my peripherals. "Welcome to Forks, WA" was printed in white chipped paint. I clenched my teeth together, a habit I had picked up when anticipating rather unpleasant scenarios. The shops and dinners that were scattered along the sidewalk weren't unique and hippy-esque as I'd been secretly hoping, but rather the same chains you could find pretty much anywhere in North America.

We turned onto a tree shaded residential street, and then another, and finally pulled up to a dark rust coloured two story house. Our real-estate agent had informed us that the house was 7 years old, and in good condition. It appeared so, as the paint on both the walls and white window sills remained unscathed. The house had been furnished the previous day by the movers, and we simply had the leftovers and our personal items to store ourselves. I was not one to be afraid of change, I embraced it rather, but I was still slightly apprehensive to move into a completely different small town.

The interior of the - my new house – was simple and functional, but served its purpose. I picked one of the remaining 2 bedrooms (my parents had gotten the other largest one). One was a square open room, situated at the top of the stairs, overlooking the street with large windows. The other was at the end of the hallway, on a corner of the house, so it faced the back yard that led into a forest. It was rectangular and had an adjoining bathroom. I picked the latter, because below the windows on the back wall, there was a trellis that ran over the patio outside. It was an ideal place to sneak out – not that I would be doing that in Forks, but I wanted to keep my possibilities open. Besides, the high school I would be going to here would be much larger than the private one I went to in Vancouver, I thought, not without nostalgia. There would be plenty more people, specifically guys…

The following days passed in a blur. I finally caught up the day before school would start, aware that everything had been moved in, the rooms painted (mine a bright overpowering yellow, much to my parents' dismay), that I had a new cell phone (yay!) and that I was suddenly anxious for the following day. I had no idea what to expect.

I had discovered a couple years ago, that when I was avoiding something, or even thinking about something, I would turn to cooking. So it was no surprise that night, when I discovered I had made a gourmet four course meal, and elegant dessert. The mood at the table was tense; my parents were also worried about my being in Forks High School. They knew that I adored attention and guys, and didn't want me to receive an unnecessary title prematurely.

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My alarm sounded at 7:01am, and I instantly sprung up. I couldn't help it, I was so excited. I had lots of nervous hyper energy, so I decided to do a workout. In Vancouver I had been a dancer, and here in Forks I didn't know what type of academy's they had here. So in order to keep up my thin, athletic body, I had a lot of stretching to do.

I finished around 8am, entered my bathroom, and took a shower. I didn't want to appear like I had planned my outfit, or cared how I looked, but in truth, I wasn't sure what was "in" in small towns. It was overcast, but not too cold, so I finally decided on high waisted dark wash jeans, and a gray and white vertical striped collared shirt. I put my hair in a messy bun, grabbed some cereal and rice milk, brushed my teeth and went out the door.

"Alex" I heard my mom call from inside.

"Yes?" I replied

"Do you want a ride, it's your first day" she sounded scared. I went back inside, to console her.

"It's fine mom, the school's like 3 blocks away, I think I'll survive. And once I get my license and oh, maybe a Vespa, you won't have to worry about it.

"Alex, your 14" she reminded me.

"Oh, a minor detail" I grinned at her and went back outside.

I couldn't believe I was still only 14, I felt so much older. I knew I wanted to make change in the world, spread my vegan ways. But I was already at the school, so I didn't think of this longer.

It was a series of brick buildings. Students were sprawled in the parking lot, gossiping, comparing stories and clothes, flirting; the usual hubbub of teenage life. I sighed internally, this seemed very cliché. I retrieved a list of my classes from the office, and learned that my first class was English. To my dismay this teacher didn't make me introduce myself in front of the class, he probably assumed he was doing me a favour, but I really enjoyed talking infront of people. They're forced to listen then. In tests and school, oral was my favourite. I laughed internally at that thought; okay so maybe I'm not actually older than 14. But my mind was drifting into dirty realms, and I had to listen to what the teacher was droning on about.

I glanced around at my class mates. Most had a glazed look on their faces. A couple of the guys were okay looking, but these were all 9th graders. I was more into the older guys.

My lessons before lunch flew by, my mind was on hyper mode, and I was taking everything in –from the teacher's lecture, to the font on the student's nametag on their backpack infront of me- at inhuman speed. Everyone in the classes stared at me. I didn't mind, but if it got really annoying, simply asking "is there something you need?" or "can I help you?" effectively worked to get their eyes fixed on the ground. At lunch a girl from my 9/10 Spanish class offered me a place at her table. She delivered the offer as though it was a great favour, but I could barely remember her name. Oh yeah, Jessica.

The food was greasy and "small town" American looking. There weren't many vegan options, so I got some dry lettuce, and an apple. Yum yum. Jessica's table housed many other students. They stared at me. I grinned back, unashamed. They were talking about the latest gossip – apparently someone had been dared to eat a live fish at the beach a week ago. I frowned in distaste, part of me was laughing at the stupidity and redundancy of their gossip, while the vegan part of me was seething with anger. Another animal should never suffer for a human's fault.

"Hey Jessica" I said "Can you fill me in on the cliques here at Forks High?"

"Oh my god, I totally forgot, sorry" She said, practically inhaling her fries with excitement. "Of course, okay, see those guys to the left of us? They're like the jocks, 11th and 12th graders. So-o-o-o hot. But they also like, you know, get with a lot of people; they don't really have steady girlfriends. And they usually stray away from all 9th graders, and _most_ 10th." She threw a glare filled with apparent jealousy at a pretty curvy blonde girl sitting at our table. They were both in 10th grade.

"Okay, next table, are like the classic grade 8 wannabe It Girls. Not worth your trouble. Next table; the artsy emo people. Barely any of them are strait – just putting it out there. Next, is the nice, kind of boring, nice to look at guys? Lots are from your grade. The next two tables are mostly 8 and 9th graders some are okay but"-

"Oh my fuck!" I suddenly exclaimed despite myself. A couple people looked around curiously, but I ignored them and lowered my voice. "Who are they?" I indicated with my head to a group of students sitting at a corner table.

"Those are the Cullens" Jessica nearly whispered, excited. "The small pixie one is Alice Cullen, the blonde guy next to her Jasper Hale, the blonde girl beside him is Rosalie Hale – his sister- , the muscled dark haired one next to her is Emmet Cullen, and the like bronze kinda haired hottie next to him is Edward Cullen."

"They are so gorgeous" I said, in stunned disbelief. "What are they doing _here?_" I said without thinking.

Jessica ignored my last jibe, and explained further on the sexy group. "They were adopted by Carlisle and Esme Cullen; they can't have kids I think. They all live together, and they're like together together."

"Damn, but how are they all together. There are 7 of them, or do they do like freaky incestuous threesomes?" I asked, knowing I would freak Jessica out, but I really wanted to get my paws on at least one of the guys.

"Ew" said Jessica. "No, Edward –the bronze coloured guy- is single. But he's not interested in any of the girls here, so you shouldn't waste your time." She looked pointedly in the opposite direction. I grinned.

"Hmmm" I said slyly "We'll see. And anything involving that" I indicated my head towards him "Isn't a waste of time.

"Hey Jess, Alex" a blonde guy named Mike at our table called our attention. "Jason Smearth is having a back to school party on Friday, you coming?"

Jessica blushed with excitement at being noticed by Mike and stuttered a wimpy agreement.

"Great" he said smiling at her. She now resembled a beet. "Alex? You coming"

"Yes, sure" I agreed still distracted by the Cullens.

I had never seen such beautiful people. All of them were extremely pale, like me. They also had strong angular defined features. I couldn't quite distinguish their eye colours from this distance, but they looked pretty dark. This matched the bruise like shadows surrounding them. As Jessica had explained, Alice was obviously the smallest. She had spiky short black hair that suited her body. Even sitting I could tell that Jasper was tall, and fit. Rosalie was really, just gorgeous. It hurt my ego to even look at her. I had thought that I had an okay body, but in comparison to hers, I looked like a regurgitated slug. Emmet was huge! I couldn't comprehend it. Even as he picked apart a granola bar, I could see his biceps tensing and releasing. It took a couple minutes for me to look a way. But my distraction came in the form of Edward. He had run his pale, long hands through his tousled fucking sex god hair. How could I not get distracted by that? His hair was an unusual shade of reddish brown. Bronze. Its contrast with his pale skin was amazing. And though in comparison to his super muscular brothers he didn't appear too ripped, my trained eyes could tell that he was still way fitter than any other guy in here - even the jocks.

And he was single; amazing. I wanted to get under that; pronto. I was nearly fantasizing about him already. He looked up at me from across the room, a puzzled small smile dancing across his features. I winked at him. After a few long, tense, beautiful seconds he glanced back to his family.

"What's your next class?" A loud voice broke my trance; Mike Newton.

"Oh let me check" I replied, distracted, and hastily searched through my bag for my schedule. "Drawing."

"Really?" He replied excitedly? "Mine too, oh but you're in 9th grade"

"I was in a bunch of AP programs, and sense they don't have them here they bumped me up to Drawing 10/11" I tried not to sound too smug.

"Great, I'll walk you there" He offered and we left the table and an insulted Jessica behind.

Mike was cute. Kind of. He had blonde subtly spiked hair, and was easy to please. I was being a walking vacuum cleaner, sucking up everything around me. The art room was plain, organized by wooden shelves that housed the utensils and different mediums. The walls were decorated with student's paintings. Mike took his assigned seat, but I, not knowing where it was, waited by the teacher to ask. He was busy organizing paper and graphite pencils.

People were slowing filling the room, I noticed a certain guy with bronze hair, and attempted to hide my grin. Once the class was filled, the teacher had me introduce myself and take the only empty seat – which happened to be next to Edward Cullen. Lovely. I slid onto the chair, scooting it into the two person desk; all the while repressing the herculean urge to do a victory dance. Or to throw myself on this Edward Cullen; I could smell his cologne from here, and it was intoxicating. I glanced at the person occupying the other end of it, and was slightly startled by his peculiar expression.

From here I could tell that Edward's eyes were black, and startling against his complexion. Startling and fucking hot. I could barely see his pupils, but they were visible enough to notice that when I looked at him, they dilated to take up most of his iris…was he high? Or...turned on? He looked away as soon as I thought these things, but not before I noticed the rest of his face. It looked as though his expression was battling another expression, a mixture of pain, anger, smugness, happiness, and a look I got whenever I was drunk - and also extreme hotness.

Mr. Banner was passing out paper to everyone, and a tin of pencils and charcoal.

"Welcome to Drawing 10/11 my pets. After I do attendance we can begin the scrumptious lesson I have planned." He seemed a bit eccentric, I loved weird people. Excellent. He began to call our names.

I waited until the C's were over, so that I could talk to Edward.

"Cullen, Edward" Mr. Banner called in a sing song voice.

"Here" The gorgeous being beside me replied, in a sexy nonchalant masculine voice. Wow. I didn't know one word could hold so much beauty till now. Here. I had to hear that voice again.

"Hey Edward, I'm Alex" I said with a smile, biting my lip, looking up through my lashes.

"Hello Alex" he replied coolly. Ahhh, deep sexy voice. He opened his mouth to say something else but just then –

"Xeno, Alex"

"Yes, here" I replied, annoyed at the interruption.

"Alex Xeno" Edward said slowly, testing it on his tongue. I grinned. "That's not very common –the consecutive x's.

"Why go for what's common? Besides, I'd prefer 3." I smiled, flirting easily. It was like a game, you didn't want to make it too obvious, but set little traps that make it unavoidable for the other person to start flirting back. Like so:

"You like triple X." He murmured. We both smirked. My eyes lingered on his face, and he looked back curiously, but slightly guarded. He had a very defined jaw, it was exceptional. I could feel that I was getting my creeper grin on – an expression one gets when reading about or looking at someone extremely sexy. So I turned my focus to Mr. Kettel, who had begun speaking.

"Yes Mr. Newton, this is what you will all be drawing today" He held up a large thing. I had no idea what it was; it was brownish green, sort of like a dead tree root, or clumps of molded seaweed. There was also a disgusting stench coming from the thing, which the first couple of rows were visibly recoiling from.

"I want you all to find what you think is beautiful in this" Mr. Kettel continued, as if the classes response was imaginary." He set the thing on the display table at the front, adjusted the work light so that it cast interesting shadows for everyone's perspectives, and signaled us to begin.

I stared at the thing for a few minutes, trying to decide which aspect or portion of it I wanted to capture. The base of it had a tree like form, and grooves, unlike the top which morphed into tentacle territory. I wasn't sure about the latter, but I knew I could draw trees, so I began to roughly sketch out the bottom left side. Most of my classmates were still appraising the thing with confusion or disgust, but I was trying to find the beauty in it. Trying, and succeeding; my drawing was looking pretty good. I decided to draw the object as if it were negative space, so I grabbed a piece of charcoal in my left hand, and slid it along the perimeter of the sketch.

I glanced up at Edward, to see how his image had progressed. He wasn't drawing anymore. He was staring with thirsty eyes - at me. Well then, fancy that, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I looked him up and down, to make it slightly obvious that I was checking him out. He looked back at his drawing, a slightly embarrassed look set on his perfect features.

"Do you mind if I look?" I asked innocently, indicating with my charcoal at his drawing.

He nodded his head and tilted his drawing so that I could see it. Wow. Holy fuck nut. It was amazing; reminiscent of all the old masters and the new avante garde artists. In 40 minutes he had somehow managed to combine every single type of art into that one drawing of a random gross thing. I was flabbergasted, so I couldn't come up with a convincing reply to his art. I simply looked stunned and mouthed "wow".

"Would it be possible for me to view yours?" He asked in perfectly articulated English.

"Hmm, in comparison to that" I indicated my head to his drawing "I think not".

"Please Alex" he breathed, his onyx eyes staring intently into my green ones. Alright, his eyes had seduced mine; I guess I could show him. I limply adjusted my drawing board to his direction, and heard him catch his breath.

"Alex, that's amazing" he said in yummy sexy macho voice. Oh well, I guess it was pretty decent. Even more decent of him to compliment it, fancy that.

"Thanks" I smiled.

"So what do you think of Forks?" He asked politely.

"Eh, its, erm, kind of ah, interesting?" I tried. Ha. "Wait, how did you know I'm not from here?"

"Everyone knew you were coming from the big city up north. Newcomers here are few and far between." Ah, I knew it would be something like that. Now I would be something like a topic of discussion. I was hoping for it anyways.

"Have you always lived here?" I asked him quietly.

He took a moment to reply, searching my face for a bit as though the answer lay there. "No, my family and I moved down here a few years ago – from Alaska."

He had already answered the question that had been sitting in my head, Alaska. "Alaska, I love it up there, really great scenery."

"You've been there?" He sounded surprised.

"Yeah, I travelled around the globe two years ago."

"You seemed quite worldly". We shared a smirk again.

"Was it weird coming here from Alaska, especially if your family is like together?" I asked, hoping I wasn't pushing the boundaries. I really wanted to get somewhere with this.

He frowned in thought. "It was an adjustment at first, but once people got over the initial gossip it was fine. We've mainly kept to ourselves anyway. And my siblings being together, as you say, that hasn't been a problem."

"And why is it that you seem so adamant against getting with the females here?" I asked casually. "I understand that someone like you" I checked him out again for emphasis "might not be interested in the people here, but really, is it that awful to build up some experience?" I was doing what the girls here for years had probably been too shy to do. They fucking owed me.

He looked very amused. Excellent, keep it light. Although, I wanted to get heavy with him. Hot and fucking heavy. "It's not that I have anything against the girls here, simply that I have no interest in them. Frankly, their mundane predictable activities and thoughts hold no interest of mine."

I nodded, understanding. "How old are you?" I asked. He looked and acted older than a high school student, but I knew if he were in gr.11 he could only be like 17 or 18.

"17". He smiled at me. Yum. "And you?"

"Ah. 14" His eyebrows shot up like rockets. I nodded.

"I find that surprising" He murmured. The bell rang signaling the end of class. I grabbed my bag, as did Edward.

"See you tomorrow, Edward" His name felt nice on my tongue – I wondered what else of his would feel nice on it too. Dirty thoughts again; oh dear Alex.

He had an amused expression on his face again as he nodded his sexy head in farewell. I walked to my next class – gym – with a bounce in my step. I was feeling happy – even if I wouldn't become friends or anything with Edward, at least I got to sit next to him everyday.

I changed into the horrendously oversized gym strip in the girls' locker room with an appalled expression on my face. The shorts were at least 15 centimeters too long. I rolled them over a few times, and that helped – slightly. The shapeless t-shirt was baggy and unflattering. Oh well. I was still on my Edward high.

We played volley ball, and although I tripped a few too many times, I didn't hit anyone in the face. I changed back into my tight jeans and shirt, grabbed my bag and walked outside. It had begun to drizzle lightly, and I rubbed my arms to prevent the inevitable shivering that would ensue. Despite living in Canada (to most people aka frozen wasteland) I got cold easily, and would be caught often wearing sweatshirts - in the summer.

I walked home at a brisk pace, trying to stay warm. The door was open, as my parents were both home, so I let myself in, picked up Alice my cat, and curled up on the sofa. Just then my parents walked in the room, both wearing apologetic expressions.

"Sweety, we're going to be away more than we thought. This new job requires us to be in Seattle quite often. We have to stay overnight there this Friday; do you think you could manage staying over at a friend's house?" My mom said this, as she made dinner, further explaining their plans in the city.

"Yeah sure, mom, great." I replied. That was the night of Jason Smearth's party; perfect.

The rest of the week past in a blur, I developed some tenuous friendships with the people I ate lunch with, and would occasionally speak with Edward in Art. At times he would consent and speak when I asked him a direct question, but other times he would act coolly towards my presence, all the while starring me down like a piranha. It was a bit odd. Overall though, I was adapting to Forks a lot quicker than I had anticipated.


	2. Chapter 2

Jessica, Angela, Lauren and I were all getting ready for Jason's party at my house. Piles of clothes were thrown uncharacteristically on my bedroom floor, and make up was scattered across my bathroom counter. It was 6:00pm, and with just two hours to go till we left things were getting hectic. Well, for Lauren and Jessica anyways. Angela and I were sitting on my high queen-sized bed, appraising the scene. Neither of us were too worked up with the typical "what to wear" drama. Angela, because she was a bit shy and not too worried about the physical impression she made on people, me, because I didn't really mind what I wore. I didn't really think there was a wrong thing to wear, or a right thing to wear – as long as it was tight. Besides, if the party is good enough you probably won't end up wearing much of what you came in…

"Oh my god I have nothing to effing wear!" shrilled a nasal shriek from the bathroom. Lauren.

"Yes you do" replied Jessica, holding up an American Apparel sheer pink pullover and tank top in the ceiling height mirror. "I don't though!"

With a sigh I jumped off the bed – it was really comfortable, very plush – and grabbed my abstract print tights from Urban Outfitters and a teal baby doll dress/top from Bebe and handed them to Lauren.

"The greeny blue will go great with your eyes, and can you say no to the tights?" I asked rhetorically.

I then handed Jessica my magenta skinny jeans and instructed her to wear it with her three quarter length sleeve dark blue Hollister scoop neck top. The jeans would be a bit too tight on her, and the baby doll for Lauren wouldn't do much for her petite chest, but other then that they would look great. But I had to look greater.

I really wanted Angela to make a good impression on the people at the party. Out of all my new friends she seemed the most genuine. I took more time deciding for her, finally deciding on a v neck pale turquoise top that would make her appear even more tan, and dark green denim short shorts from Guess.

"Here" I said, handing her the items "These will make your legs look great, and every guy will want to spread them"

The other girls giggled and looked shocked at me. "Just putting it out there, but don't wear flats with them, Lauren wear flats with yours Jessica hm, surprise us". The obediently dashed off to their separate bags full of shoes and clothes.

Now for me. Hmmmm. I had to stand out from the others, and since they were in pants and shorts and tights I needed a skirt, or a dress. I flicked through what was left in my closet, and came across – perfect. I had gotten it a few months ago from a random shop in the city, for my sister's grad dinner, but my mom had said it was too "revealing" so I couldn't wear it then. Not wanting to return the lovely find, I had "lost" the receipt. Not that it would have done much for the picky "non-refundable" shops. It was a dress; wide low scoop neck, but ultra tight, so I got cleavage, long sleeves, and hugging my body tightly till it ended above mid-thigh level. So it was a little slutty, but it looked hot. It was the type of dress that only a person with fat in the right places and absolutely no where else could pull off. Luckily, I was one of those rare people. It was spandex, and bright yellow, and made me look nice and blonde. Downside – I couldn't breathe. Oh well. For now I put on loose shorts and a t-shirt, wanting to avoid spending as much time as possible in the dress.

I skipped into the bathroom, where the other girls were applying ample amounts of make up. If I was wearing a skanky dress, I didn't want skanky make up, so I settled for a tiny bit of cat eye eyeliner and mascara. Nothing on my lips; guys didn't like getting sticky or coloured lips after you kissed them. Wishful thinking or consideration?

I went downstairs to make some food, the last time I had been drinking on an empty stomach I had ended up on the bathroom floor for the whole night - with someone on top of me. I decided on making nice starchy pasta and parmesan-free pesto. 15 minutes later, I brought the food up in four bowls and we gulped it down, ravenous after all the outfit picking.

After we cleaned up my room and brushed our teeth, we had 30 minutes before we had to be there. Well, the party started in approx. 15 minutes, but it necessary to show up fashionably late. Apparently. We got dressed in our chosen outfits, paired it with the correct shoes – for me a pair of 3" lime green strappy heels – I'd get out of them once I was dancing anyways, and made our way to Jessica's car.

10 minutes later we were parked behind the line of cars, in front of the evident party house. The music was blaring, drunken laughing voices were echoing down the street, and the house summoned me. I needed to dance. The other girls were giggling about who should knock on the door, and blushing when they thought what would happen if Jason's older brother, Ryan who played football in college, answered.

I rolled my eyes at them; sometimes there boring teenage issues were so tedious. I marched up to the door, knocked confidently and – wow, his brother did answer the door. He had nothing on Edward of course, but he was still very very hot. He was pretty tall, very buff with black hair and green eyes. Why did Forks get all the hotties?

I smiled seductively at him, biting my lip. "Hey, can we check out the party?" I asked not letting my eyes stray from his face. He nodded, starting to smile too.

"I'm Alex, bye the way".

"Ryan" he said simply. We walked past him, I made sure to gently brush my arm into his. Let him feel the chemistry. Yum.

"See you later Ryan" I called cheerfully. I turned my attention to the house. It was quite big for Forks, even when it was full of nearly the whole high school. There was no DJ or strobe light like there had been at parties I had been to in Vancouver, but the music was good, and I saw lots of alcohol still at the drinks table. We helped ourselves to liberal amounts of grey goose and coke as a chase.

I turned to Lauren, Jess, and Angela –they still looked slightly nervous, though I, the lightweight through and through, was feeling tipsy. "Let's dance!"

They seemed to agree, for we made our way close to the speakers, and make shift dance floor. Some fast house beats were playing, so we danced around with everyone for a few songs. When the music changed to something slower – "Make love in this club" by usher, I found some attractive gr.11 or 12 guys to grind with. Jessica made her way over to us, looking embarrassed and also impressed.

"How do you just get a guy like that?" She asked astounded. I didn't mind answering, as the said guy was busy testing if the dress was too tight to get his hands under it. So I simply said "Here I'll show you".

I turned around to face the guy, smiling, running my hand down his built chest. "So, what's your name?" I asked smiling.

"Jason" he replied, glancing at my mouth. Ah, the party thrower.

"Oh right, this is your party. Well its fun, so I want to thank you for that. Why don't we dance over here?" I suggested bringing us so my back touching a wall. With a wink at Jessica, and a mouthed "like so" in her direction, I leaned in and kissed Jason. The alcohol had really kicked in, so I didn't feel shy at all.

Our bodies, now pressed together against the wall, were still swaying to the music, so I wrapped my long arms around his neck, and opened my mouth so that our tongues could connect. I let Jessica get the gist of it for a few minutes, and then I leaned back so I could talk to her. Jason occupied himself with my neck and chest.

"So, do you have a certain guy that you want to dance with?" I swayed my hips into Jason to enunciate the point. He groaned, and I felt him get hard.

Jessica blushed even more. "Maybe"

"Who is it?" I asked, giving Jason a hickey in return for the one he had just given me.

"Um, M-m-Mike Newtown." She stammered out.

I pulled back from Jason's eager mouth and grinned at her. "No way! That's awesome, there's definitely chemistry between you too."

"Thanks Alex, I'll uh, see you later" She said it like a question.

I turned my attention to the guy who had me up against a wall. I felt bad for using him, but it was good for Jessica, so for a few more minutes I concentrated on our mouths and bodies and what we were doing to each other. We broke apart, and he indicated his head towards a door. "Let's have some privacy".

I grinned at him "No, I'm going to dance more, see you later" I gave him a peck on the lips and a wink, and threw myself into the midst of the dancing.

A half hour later, I was getting tired from the dancing, so I made my way over to the drinks table – which was noticeably emptier – to refuel myself. A few guys were standing there, including Mike Newton.

"Hey Mike, have you seen Jessica lately? I think she was looking for you" I said, pouring some Malibu into some random person's cup.

"Really? Uh no, I haven't. Do you want to check downstairs for her, with me?" He asked tentatively. God, some people seemed oddly shy. I was taking a long drink of the coconut flavoured alcohol, so I nodded, as I swallowed the liquid.

We walked down the staircase at the back of the house, tripping slightly, with drinks in hand. It was darker downstairs, a few people were crowded around a pool table, and others it seemed were attempting to hotbox a storage closet. I'm sure Jason's parents would be thrilled when they came home and went to change their desecrated sheets only to find they reeked of weed.

Jessica was sitting on a sofa, looking somewhat uncomfortable next to a pair of students on top of each other, kissing for England. She was sipping a drink dangerously fast for the designated driver, so I waved her over. She looked relieved when she saw me, and even more nervous when she saw Mike.

She came over to us, tripping slightly, and blushing furiously. Oh jeez. "Hey Alex, Mike" She turned her full attention to him, and I took that as my cue to sneak away. Not however, to trip over a discarded red cup – which is exactly what I did. Being slightly intoxicated I found the floor much much more interesting than standing normally, so I remained lying down for a couple minutes, playing with the plush carpet.

I felt a hand on my back, and another tilting my face up. "Are you alright?" A deep voice asked, laughing.

I looked into a pair of grey eyes. Another hot guy?! Why in Forks of all places? He had a cute smile and apparently strong arms as he pulled me up.

I grinned at him, making sure our hands didn't unclasp, even as I was standing unsupported. "Yeah, I tripped and the carpet was really distracting. Have you noticed how plush it is?" He laughed again, probably thinking I was a loon. Oh well.

"Maybe you can show me sometime later, for now though, I think you need another drink" He said still smiling. Guys could be so nice, if you just gave them the chance to show it.

I couldn't remember what I had done with my Malibu – probably drunken it. So I consented, and was about to go upstairs to get another one. I was stopped by the grey eyed guy.

"There's another drink table in there" he indicated to a closed door. "Let's get stuff from there; I'm not sure how well you will do on the staircase. He smirked.

I was feeling pretty dizzy already, so another drink probably wouldn't be the best thing for me, but I walked in as he opened the door for me. He followed suit, and shut the door behind us. I was immediately aware that there were no drinks in here – the only stuff in here was a sofa and a TV.

I felt myself sway slightly, and he caught me, not letting go even once I was somewhat steady. "I think they have the same carpet in here as in the other room, do you want to take a closer look" He breathed into my face. The scent of alcohol washed over me, making me even tipsier. I nodded, not sure if I could stand up strait without a wall for much longer. He gently lowered us to the ground, making sure he was in control – and on top of me. He brought his mouth to mine, and began kissing me at a fast pace. It was kind of rough, also kind of hot. One of his hands held onto my hair, the other was roaming the side of my body. I giggled, my attention was still on the carpet, but I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his back muscles and combing through his short blonde hair.

Some minutes later, I became aware that my dress wasn't on me anymore. I frowned, it was kind of chilly. I extracted my tongue from his panting mouth, so that I could shiver so he got the point.

"Are you cold?" He asked breathlessly.

"E-yeah-h-h" I sounded like a donkey.

"Here, I'll warm you up" He murmured into my neck, as his hands began to pull down my underwear.

"But, if you're taking more clothes off, won't that make me colder?" I asked rhetorically, and drunkenly.

He laughed, but his hands came back up – to my chest. I realized where this was going, so I tried to sit up.

"Where are you going, babe?" He asked holding me down.

"I need to uh, find Angela." I made up.

He groaned, but let me up. "Right I'll uh, see you sometime" he said awkwardly running his hands through his hair, then leaning in for another 10 minute kiss.

I nodded, and walked out the door. I needed some fresh air, so I headed upstairs and into the back yard. A couple people were trying to play hacky sack, but kept missing, or kicking each other by mistake. I found Angela sitting on a bench, talking to a short guy –Ben, I think his name was.

"Hey Ang" I greeted her with a relieved smile. She looked happy, and only slightly tipsy. I sat next to them, glad to just relax, and not worry about who had what down my pants. Or rather up my dress.

"Alex! What have you been up to? I've hardly seen you" She asked, slightly reproachful.

"Oh, this and that" I said in what I hoped appeared a nonchalant voice. She saw my glazed eyes, and seemed to realize that I wasn't the soberest squirrel on the street.

"Do you want to go inside and dance?" She asked slowly, seeing that I was shivering again.

I nodded and we headed inside. I felt more comfortable moving around, I wasn't that drunk, mostly just hyper and horny and clumsy – but I was always those things. Always.

I recognized Eric Yorkie, trying to stay to the beat while doing some extravagant jumping in the centre of the room. I went up to him and joined in his new style.

"Hey Yorkie, so what do you call this jumping style?" I asked grinning. He was really funny.

"Hmmm, Eric Style, of course" He replied without missing a jump.

The song finished a minute or two later, and I went on instinct and found my mouth attached to Eric's. Oh dear. We kissed for a few minutes, but I realized I was thirsty, so I pulled back.

"Whoa" He said, stunned.

"I'm thirsty, I'll see you Monday though" I smiled and walked away. In Vancouver I would always hook up with my friends –guys and girls alike – but apparently it was less common here.

I walked over to the drinks table, and grabbed a half empty mickey of green apple Smirnoff, and chugged most of it, savoring the burning sensation that remained in my throat. A cute surfer looking guy walked over then, eyeing me up and down.

"I brought that, but I didn't get to have any, isn't that a shame?" He asked, indicating to the Smirnoff.

"I'm sorry" I said, handing him the remaining liquid "Is there something I can do to make up for it?" I pouted at him – he had skater boy "swished across" hair and warm brown eyes.

He smiled dreamily in response, put the bottle on the table, and wrapped his hands around my lower back. He pulled me into him, and we kissed, occasionally stopping to smile or laugh or drink. After about a quarter of an hour, I was getting tired, so I pulled back, ran my tongue over his soft upper lip once more and pulled my arms back to my sides – they were slightly stiff.

"Do you want to check out downstairs?" He asked casually wrapping his tanned arm around my shoulders. I smiled in consent, and we tripped together down the stairs. He was instantly entertained by the pool game, so I gave him a peck – with some tongues – and walked over to the other end of the room.

Sitting on the sofa, nursing some Heineken was a familiar sexy face – Ryan. He glanced up when I murmured his name, and smiled - slightly creepily to be honest. I sat next to him and we talked for a while about the happenings at the party, and in Forks – not that there were many.

"So how old are you?" He asked huskily.

I shrugged in response. "Come on" he breathed "It won't change anything I will or won't do, I'm just curious"

"Alright, I'm 14" I sighed, knowing I was shit at lying when I was drunk – only then though.

He looked slightly taken aback, but he hid it carefully behind his smexy smile. "That's okay, I'm 23, but I really don't give a fuck cause you're the sexiest thing in this vicinity" With that, he leaned in and captured me.

I didn't care that he was almost a decade older than me, or that he had called me a thing – not that I was a feminist at all – all I cared was that now he was kissing me like an animal! It was crazy, I was wrapped tightly into him, and he had tangled his fists in my hair, clawing down my spandex covered back. My subconscious noticed that several onlookers were getting uncomfortable with our moaning, so I slowly pulled away.

Ryan seemed to get my unspoken point, so he pulled me of the sofa, and walked me up the stairs to the main floor, across a hallway, up another flight and down another hallway, until we finally reached his bedroom. I didn't take notice of the posters of bikini clad girls, or of the hastily stored bong in the corner, or even of the picture of a girl on his bedside table – which was now adjacent to my pillow supported head.

He leaned over me, desire in his emerald eyes, and crushed my parted lips with his. He pulled my arms above my head, and kissed down my neck, nuzzling his head and slightly unshaved face in my breasts. We kissed embarrassingly loud and rough for sometime, I wrapped my legs around his waist, rubbing my hips into his.

He pulled my hair back from my neck and bit it, licking the exposed flesh. I kissed him again fiercely, rolling so that I was straddling his waist. I leaned down and kissed him lightly, gently swirling my tongue at the entrance of his mouth, tempting him.

He groaned in response, and ran his hands down my back over my butt –which he gave a not too gentle squeeze – and to the edge of my dress. He pulled it up, over my head, and tossed it on the ground. We kissed again – I lost track of time. He had rolled me over, and was exploring the newly exposed skin with his mouth. He then sat up, pulled off his shirt, added it to my dress, and leaned on me again. I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and began to pull them down – to reveal his evident hard on. I ran my hands through his hair, smiling to cover my uncertainty. Although I made out with a lot of guys, I never went too far with them. I never really wanted to; I was usually just bored of dancing and drinking and needed some of their entertainment. How far did I want to go with Ryan? Probably not this far, but he was hot, and older, and knew what he was doing. Alright, I guess I'd do it –him rather.

Just then the door opened and in came an anxious looking Jessica. Her expression immediately turned to surprise when she saw us.

"Holy fuck!" She shouted

"Hey Jess" I grinned at her from under Ryan's half naked form. "What's up?"

"I was wondering when you wanted to leave – it it's almost two and …"

Her voice trailed off, so she resumed her surprised expression. Just then the door opened again, and in walked Mike, looking first surprised, then jealous, then angry, then surprised. Oh wasn't this fun!

"Holy fuck!" He mirrored Jessica's response. I didn't want the whole party to move up here, so I gave Ryan one more lingering kiss, crawled out from underneath him – Mike gaped at my yellow polka dot bra and green underwear, Jessica glowered at him – awkwardly pulled on my dress, and walked over to the new additions to the room.

Mike walked out of the room, and Jessica followed suit –neither seemed mad, they just didn't really know what to do in the situation. Jessica mumbled an "I'll see you downstairs" and shut the door.

I giggled, and glanced over at the 23 year old hottie. He was putting his shirt back on – a shame in my opinion. I walked over to him, stood on my tip toes, threw my arms around him and gave him a kiss. It didn't have the horny fire of earlier, but it was affectionate and cute. 20 minutes later he held me close to him, gave me a nip on the ear, turned me around, tapped my butt and sent me out the door with a "This will seem like a funny story in a few hours".

I skipped – well tripped really, down the stairs and into Jessica's awaiting arms. I wasn't very drunk anymore, just tipsy, but I was feeling tired, and wanting to avoid a hangover I thought it would be smart to go home.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked her smiley lightly.

"Yeah, Angela and Lauren our outside, we'll met them there" She answered in her normal bubbly voice, no longer embarrassed now that Ryan and Mike weren't in the room.

We carefully walked out to her car, climbed in, and drove to my house - sleepy, but not too drunk. Once inside, we changed into comfortable clothes, bleary eyed and staggering, wiped off our make up, drank lots of water and curled up in my bed.

"Hey Alex" Angela said, sounding kind of shy "Exactly how many people did you, like kiss tonight?"

"Um…" I racked my brain – ow "I think like five, maybe. Why?" I answered nonchalantly.

"Wow" She and Lauren murmured together. We were quiet for a few minutes, burrowing under my vegan friendly "down" quilt.

"Did you guys get with anyone?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I was talking to a couple guys and stuff, but not really anything more" Angela said, while the other two chatted in agreement.

"Yeah, nothing like you and Ryan!" Jessica said excitedly. Oh jeez, this would be big news on Monday – not that I minded. At all. I was kind of excited for what Forks high would think. Or what Edward would think – would he think I was a slut? Did I care if he did? Yes, I really cared about what he thought of me. Too too much.

"Ryan!" Lauren practically yelled "Oh my god, tell me everything!"

Jessica immediately recalled what happened. "Okay, so I was downstairs with Mike, and we were looking for Alex because I wanted to go, then I go upstairs to look and I open a door, and she's lying on his bed half naked underneath him!"

"What?" Angela and Lauren gasped in unison.

I bit my lip. "We were both drunk…"

"Oh my god, tell us everything, what did you do?" Lauren asked still talking like a chipmunk on helium.

"Er, kissed, and stuff." I said, trying to remember.

"And stuff?" asked Jessica, interested.

"Not much other stuff, strictly 1st/2nd base. Not much groping or anything." I realized that despite the lack of clothing, we really hadn't done much. I think I was happy about this; I didn't really want to be a slut. Just a flirt who doesn't mind getting a tinsy bit physical.

"Still, oh my god! Ryan Smearth!" Angela seemed to be in awe.

"Hot stuff" I murmured in agreement, feeling tired.

I heard Jessica begin to snore lightly – oh fun. But soon I joined her in a subconscious place. I had a dreamless long sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews - keep them coming! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Once the fall term begins I won't be able to update often, but I'll try to keep the story moving.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga.

The next morning we woke up late, still tired, and – in the other's cases - slightly hung-over. I heard Angela groan, and put a hand to her head – clearly they weren't used to the life of an average 21st century teenager in the city.

I slipped out of my comfortable bed, grabbed some clothes, and hopped in the shower. Ahh. Once I was done and dressed in lulus, and a La Senza ultra soft bra, I glanced in the mirror. The shower had taken off my leftover smeared make up, and my deep conditioner had worked miracles on my tangled hair, but the biggest problem were all the hickeys on my neck and chest. When had all that happened? I would have to wear high necked clothes for the next few days – some of them were really dark or noticeable. I knew I could pull off turtle necks, but would people get suspicious? Maybe; hopefully not my parents – who would be here in under an hour. Shit!

I returned to my bedroom, threw on my high necked Chanel light grey blouse and the girls were still lying like zombies on by bed.

"Okay, up you get, and you and you" I grabbed each of them, and lightly tossed them off the bed. "My parents will be here in like 40 minutes, so move your asses!"

"Where are we going?" Asked a delirious Jessica.

"Hmm, your house. Bye!" I waved them out of my room, handing them their belongings, and attempting to make them appear presentable. Nearly all of my good Mac make up wipes were used up in the process. Damn.

Once they had left, I cleaned my room, did the laundry, and went to clean any other room we had been in. My parents would be here any minute, so not wanting to make them suspicious of the abnormally clean house, I left some homework on the table, turned on the television, and made breakfast.

They arrived just as I was adding the steamed spinach to my scrambled tofu.

"Hello" my dad called cheerfully.

"Hi" I called back to them.

"How was your sleepover at Jessica's?" My mom asked, sniffing my cooking appreciatively.

"Good, we watched a lot of horror movies" I answered sublimely.

"Oh dear" my mom sounded worried.

"Yeah, that's why I've got the T.V. on." I explained.

"The er, weather network?" My dad said confused.

Fuck. "Yeah, it's great. Really interesting." I bluffed.

"What about it interests you?" My dad asked excited. Oh dear, I really hoped he didn't have another weird plan up his sleeve.

"I like meteorology" I hoped I was saying the name correctly "It's neat how they can predict the er, weather stuff."

"Yes, especially when the Nimbostratus clouds obscure the satellites. Right?" uh…

I was saved by my phone vibrating on the counter. I picked it up thrilled, and glanced at the number, I didn't recognize it, and so it wasn't Lauren saying she had left a thong here or something.

"Hello?" I said still smiling.

"Hey Alex" A deep voice said, it sounded like they were smiling as well.

"Hi" I said.

"It's Ryan.

"Oh, hi again" I said, focusing on pouring tamari in my scramble. "What's up?"

"Not much, a bit lonely. How are you?" He asked sounding bored with the formalities.

"I'm pretty good, making uh, brunch" I decided, as my parents were listening and would think it strange that I was eating breakfast at 2:30pm.

"So what are you up to on hmmm, Tuesday at like 5:00ish?" He asked sounding slightly embarrassed. "I wanted to see you again – last night's goodbye was a bit, er, sudden."

"I don't think I have anything planned" I said adding crushed garlic to the tofu, onions and spinach.

"Can you meet me at Starbucks? I want to see you again" He said again.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you then." I said. "Well, my tofu's burning, so bye."

"Bye Alex" He said.

I turned to my food, added some more spicy Thai flavouring, and scooped it onto a plate, trying to hide my smile.

"Who was that?" Asked my mom interested. My dad had turned to the newspaper, so I seemed safe from the cloud discussion.

"Study group. They're recruiting members, so I thought I'd give it a try." I answered nonchalantly. I was good at lying; most people thought I was bad, because at times I tried to make it obvious so that when I really had to lie, it would be believable; like now.

"Oh that's nice. When are you going?" She was so persistent.

"Tuesday."

The rest of the day was spent focusing on homework. I wasn't used to getting these extravagant amounts – it wasn't healthy in my opinion. Getting kids too stressed would make them do less physical activities, and then they would turn to drugs to either lose the gained weight or relieve their stress levels.

On Sunday I scoured through Forks in search of a dance studio. I could practice at home, but I wanted to make use of having more space. I finally came upon one, signed up for 15 hours a week worth – leaving Fridays and weekends free. I would have to miss my date with Ryan, but I couldn't think of a good excuse yet, so I ignored it and went home to make a soy latte.

That night after doing some stretching, in preparation for tomorrow's ballet and modern classes, I took a shower, and glanced in the mirror to see if the hickeys were still conspicuous. They had paled, but still stood out from my pale skin; shit. I pulled on my large Ramones t-shirt and black spandex booty shorts, brushed my teeth and went to bed.

I wasn't sure what to expect the next day, would everyone be gossiping about the party? Would Edward be? I doubted that somehow, he seemed more sophisticated than that. Pondering these questions I curled up in my bed and went to sleep.

I jumped awake with a start. I glanced at the clock in confusion – it was 2:37. I heard the reason I had woken up – a "ping" sound kept repeating itself near by my window. It was like out of a horror movie, was this the part where I leaned out the window too far and got murdered by the villain. I looked out the window, keeping it tightly shut. No, this was like out of a romance film. Ryan was standing outside, chucking pebbles at the window. Cute. Slightly stalkerish, but cute.

I silently opened the window poked my head out.

"Hey he stage whispered. I didn't want to wait till Tuesday, will you come down?" He said, grinning impishly.

"Sure" I whispered back. I quickly threw on my Marc Jacobs teal cotton sweater, a pair of fluffy slippers and jammed 5 tic tacs in my mouth. I stepped out onto the window sill, grabbed the side of my house, and lowered myself onto the trellis. I slithered down the wooden beam and onto the deck railing, finally jumping off next to an amused Ryan.

"Speaking of Tuesday, I have a dance class so I doubt I can make it." I said, hugging him. "Sorry".

"Mm, that's okay, but you better come with me now, in that case." He replied taking my hand.

"By the way, how do you know where I live?" I asked casually.

"Jessica Stanley" He replied simply.

He led me through a lightly inhabited part of the forest, and onto the road parallel to the one I lived on. Sitting on the street, conspicuous even in the dark was a motorcycle. I grinned.

"Here" he said, handing me a helmet and grabbed his own. I pulled it on and adjusted the straps. He leaned forward for a kiss when –

CLANG!

Our helmets smashed together and sent us ricocheting off of each other.

"Maybe later then" Ryan said still laughing.

He climbed onto the bike, and I got on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Ready?" He asked.

I bit his shoulder for conformation.

"Did you just bite me?" He seemed startled.

"Yes" I said simply. He shook his head in confusion and revved the engine. Soon we were flying down the street, the wind whipped my face, but it was so exhilarating that I didn't care that I was an ice cube.

He weaved through the side streets, until we came upon a park at the end of a cul de sac. He helped me off the bike once it was parked – I was still frozen – and we walked to a bench.

He smiled at me as he took off our helmets; I shook out my dirty blonde hair. He stashed them under the bench and pulled me closer to him.

"This is long overdue" I murmured, leaning into his face.

He met my lips in the middle, securing my lower – very lower – back in his arms. I put my hands on his chest as we synchronized the movements of our mouths. I hesitantly put my tongue in his mouth; this was more awkward as I wasn't drunk – though he tasted suspiciously of alcohol. I didn't have any feelings for Ryan, he was just a hot older guy, but I didn't mind if he could help me settle into Forks.

He steered us towards the bench, and I awkwardly tried to find the seat with my butt. I fell slightly onto it, giggling, naturally. He came down beside me, briefly breaking the kiss so that he could avoid falling as well.

After a few minutes he pulled back and produced a small bottle from his pocket; whiskey of course. He chugged at least half of what was left in the nearly full mickey, and handed it to me. I shook my head, not wanting to have a headache for school.

"Its fine Alex" he insisted holding the top of the bottle to my mouth. I gave up and let him pour some in. The sour taste burned my mouth without a chase, but I swallowed it anyways.

He insisted that I finish the bottle though I didn't really want to. There wasn't much left so I doubted that I would get more than slightly tipsy. Once it was empty, we kissed some more. I could tell that he was trying to take advantage of me; I didn't really mind, but I wasn't that into it either.

"Come on Alex" He breathed into my neck, once again tugging at the skimpy spandex – suddenly I wished I had worn longer pants. I sighed and allowed him to begin to pull them down my muscled thighs.

Suddenly we heard a loud crash nearby.

"Shit, who's there" I exclaimed, sitting up and pulling up my shorts. Ryan looked around briefly, and then inclined his head towards me again.

"Wait, Ryan, what was that?" I asked, my paranoia creeping into my voice.

"I dunno, it doesn't matter" He crept his hands into the top of my shorts again.

"Grrr. Just wait a bit, I'm getting paranoid now" I said.

He rolled his eyes at me, but did withdraw his hands – only to use them to push me down onto the bench. He leaned on top of me, lifting my hair off my neck so that he could add some _more_ hickeys. Soon I would look like I had the chicken pocks – great.

An hour later I lay in my bed, tired but unable to sleep, as my mind was buzzing with what had passed. After the park, and park bench to be more exact, we had ridden back to my house and sat on the concrete, leaning against his motorcycle. I thought back to the conversation we had had while smoking his Camels.

"So, what exactly are we?" I had asked Ryan, successfully appearing nonchalant. "We aren't like a couple, are we?"

He shrugged in reply; great.

"I don't think so, really." I continued, as he seemed to not be that helpful conversation wise "I quite like you, but it would probably be better – just with the age and lifestyle differences – if our relationship was more…open?"

He nodded "Yeah that sounds good. I don't really want anything too serious; you're just really cute."

He pinched my cheek as if to prove his point. Ha. Not. Keeping his hand on my face, he brought up his other one behind my head, delicately securing my face to his. We kissed, not as intense as before, but still at a steady pace. After a while I noticed that the concrete was turning my bum to ice, and that I would be dead in class if I didn't get to bed soon, so I shuffled up to my feet, gave him a 4 ½ minute peck, and slithered up the trellis into my bed.

I wasn't sure why I didn't want to have sex with him – at least sober. He was hot, older, more experienced, and drove a motorcycle. In theory, I would be like "do me now, bitch!" but in reality, I just wasn't interested. And I knew that underneath all my dirty talk I was nearly a prude; I hadn't done much, and didn't want sex. At least not with him, maybe one of the Cullens would be an exception. Yum…

The next morning I was tired, and had a slight head ache, but I'd had worse. Much worse. I pulled on my coral tight spandex/nylon low cut tank top, and black uber tight high waisted cotton/nylon skirt – both from Aritzia – ate some cereal and hemp milk, brushed my teeth, grabbed a grey sweater (I would need it), and – in the habit I was now getting used to – walked to school.

I had dressed in this slightly school inappropriate outfit for yes, a boy. A very specific boy. Edward Cullen to be exact. Well, all the Cullen males anyway, but I was only in class with Edward, sitting half a foot away from him daily, fantasizing about him daily. If he only new my thoughts, the poor guy would be traumatized.

It was in my second class that I first heard the gossip:

"Ew, apparently she slept with like all three of them!" Some brunette chick in front of me murmured to her friend.

"All three?" The other sounded confused.

"Jason, Ryan, and their dad! So she's done like all the male generations in that family. Gross!"

"I'll say, I heard she also got with 10 people in half an hour"

"Ew, what a slut"

Throughout the rest of my lessons and all on the way to lunch this was all I heard. Every grade seemed to be abuzz with memories of Jason's party – most in some way involving me. I sat at my usual table, and most of my friends seemed normal to me, though I would often catch them whispering in each other's ears. I rolled my eyes in distaste; so typical of high school students.

The bell rang then signally our next lesson; I nearly jumped up in excitement. I threw my partially eaten salad in the garbage, ran my hands through my tousled blonde hair, and walked to the art room. Seducing Edward Cullen time: commence.

I walked into the doorway; he was already in his seat, naturally. I checked him out thoroughly from there, he looked absolutely splendid in a fitted grey pullover, defining the obvious muscles in his torso…drool, and designer dark wash jeans. Do me, please!

I had to remind myself to keep my tongue in my mouth more than once on my walk to my adjacent seat. What a stud! He somehow exuded utter nonchalance and almost boredom at the same time as appearing focused in the black sketchbook in his hand. His posture straitened noticeably as I approached our desk, the tendons standing out on his pale wrist. Pale, fucking gorgeous, muscled wrist. Well, maybe his posture didn't change noticeably; I was probably just turning into a stalker. Not good, Alex. Shut up brain.

"Hello Edward" I said, leaning down slightly too far to grab my pencil case – and also to give him a great view of my cleavage.

"Alex" He nodded, looking up from his book, and zeroing in his eyes on my chest – I pretended not to notice, and hid my creeper smile. It seemed to be almost instinctive for teenage males – not that I minded.

"How was your weekend?" I asked, trying to appear only slightly interested as I pulled out my sketchbook.

"Slow" He murmured in his voice quiet. "But not unpleasant. And yours?"

I beamed up at him, "All right. Just finishing moving in and the likes of that; not very eventful"

"Hm." He sounded preoccupied. "Jason's party sounded…eventful"

I smirked. "Things often sound much more different than they actually are."

He pressed his point. "Yes. But usually there is some truth behind the rumors. Am I wrong? He contradicted me in his beautiful voice, his shadowed eyes hypnotic.

I smiled. "Some truth, but usually those extending the truth are merely envious that the person of topic is getting some, when they aren't." I was bored of the hypothetical cases; let's just talk about me, and you. And sex.

He laughed at my response, his golden eyes lingering on my face. Golden eyes? I guess coloured contacts were "in" here, how odd. "Though I'm sure the person of topic" He smirked at me, and glanced at my outfit. "Could intentionally dress in a way that would inevitably provoke a response that would assist the accusations.

Damn, he was good. Smart. Hot. Brilliant. Sex on legs; very nice legs. "Well why not? It's better to be noticed for the wrong things, than to not be noticed at all; that way one has a chance of redeeming themselves."

He looked at my face, his expression unreadable. I held his gaze, grinning like a lunatic. Usually I would think it was rude to stare – even at a model like this guy – but if he was returning my gaze, well then why not? His eyes were a lovely shape, wide and speculative. Mmm, this was sex for eyes. Eye sex! He lips suddenly twitched, and he reluctantly turned away, hiding a smile.

I returned my focus to the front of the classroom, aware that the lesson had started some time ago. Edward seemed thoughtful for most of the lesson, so I didn't interrupt him, and focused on the sketch of a face I was supposed to be working on. I was constantly aware of his presence, his fixed gaze intent on his drawing, how the curve of his upper spine and trapezius would become more pronounced as he found an important detail to adjust in the sketch, he himself was like a piece of art. And I was like the art collector, who had found something they were willing to do anything to get. No, I was just like a stalker. I wanted him. He was just so fucking sexy!

The bell rang, breaking my stalkerish reverie. I went to get up, but Edward was faster of course, his belongings already in his bag, standing a meter from his seat. I began to follow suit, and picked up my graphite pencil.

"See you tomorrow, Alex." He said in his low, sexy, sex god voice.

"Edward" I nodded at him with a smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga.

The next day the rumors were still circulating – didn't this town have anything interesting to discuss? No, of course not.

By the time my art class came around I was bored as fuck from the lack of innovative topics, and dying for a distraction – ideally appearing in the form of Edward Cullen. Hot.

We greeted each other pleasantly, testing how yesterday's conversation had changed the way we communicated. At least that's how I viewed it – he probably thought it was just any other day.

walked into the room then, carrying a huge container full of canvas paper.

"Afternoon, my children! You will be members of the excellent lesson I have planned for you all, my little guinea pigs. Oh yes! It is brilliant." He practically sang, as he handed out the paper and boards to the reluctant students. I grinned at him, excellent fellow; we needed some unique minds in this school.

He continued. "Yesterday we explored the realms of drawing faces from memory, today we will draw the faces that we see: everyone turn to your desk partner." I bit the inside of my cheeks to hide my grin, as I turned to face Edward; excellent.

He gave us further instructions on suggested mediums, and instructed us to begin. I picked up my board, placed the canvas paper on top of it, and picked up a light HB2 pencil to begin with; as did Edward.

How was I supposed to draw this sex god? I could only draw ugly things, or at least human things – he was beyond that. I began to lightly sketch out his face shape, trying to draw only the negative space around his head.

"So" he began casually, looking through his pencils. I wondered idly what he was trying to find. "I've been wondering" He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "These rumors, how many are true?"

I was glad we were past all the hypothetical shit – do me now! "Well, there are a lot of rumors; I doubt I've heard half of them"

"Please?" He breathed, looking up at me through his startlingly long and thick eyelashes. I was jealous of them, actually. His gaze was suddenly intent, the dark gold of his iris' boring into mine. My breathing hitched for a moment; this was even more intense than the eye sex! Brilliant!

Of course I would never dream of saying no to that face, but I wanted more information out of him; why was he so interested in whether these trivial rumors had some substance behind them? "Why is it you're so interested in them?" I asked, keeping my voice light, but actually really curious about why he was interested in my mundane life.

He sighed and glanced at the overcast sky out the window. "I'm finding myself…interested in what you're involved in. And I'm not sure whether to judge you on some things that I've heard."

"Oh, so you're wondering if I'm a slut" Glad we cleared that up. Ish.

He smirked. "Not exactly in those words, but that might be the essence of what I'm asking."

"Well then, tell me some of what you heard, I'll answer, and you can judge me from there" I said, working on his left eye, now that I had shaded around where his features should be on the paper.

"Hmm" He studied his drawing for a moment, glancing up at me with a smile and adding something. "You arrived in lingerie"

I laughed at that one. "False, I looked like a banana; I was wearing a bright yellow dress – not that there was much fabric" I added as an after thought. "Would you have preferred it if I had arrived in what I was rumored to be in?" I asked feeling bold. What's the worst that could happen? He would be disgusted and walk away; oh well. When girls took themselves too seriously they would throw a fit if a guy said one thing they disagreed with. Being oversensitive was a waste of time in my books.

He chuckled, and was suddenly absorbed in his drawing. He finally looked up at me, still amused. "I doubt it; I wasn't there."

"Good answer" I murmured, hiding my grin. "Next"

"You, were kissing Eric Yorkie while, er, giving a lap dance to Mike Newton." He nearly growled out their names. Whoa.

"No, that would take serious talent though, but there were no threesomes or anything like that." I said, nearly blushing at the question and the reaction to it. Blushing! Imagine that Alex.

"Okay good, that cancels out the next three questions" Edward sounded almost relieved. Was he embarrassed asking these? Or was he worried about how my answers would effect what he thought of me.

"You did however, make out with Eric Yorkie, correct?" He sounded slightly disgruntled.

I tried to remember, ew, Eric Yorkie. "Er, to tell you the truth I can't quite remember…I think so. Maybe. Yeah, ew, I think I did. But, he taught me a dance, and I wanted to thank him, somehow." I sounded surprised by myself.

"And naturally the need to thank him in a non-verbal way was much more appealing than any other form." Edward stated sarcastically.

"Naturally." I grinned up at him. He was still about a foot taller then me, even sitting in a chair – and I had good posture.

"Alright. You hooked up with Tyler Crowley under the pool table." He said, focusing on highlighting parts of his drawing with an eraser.

"I don't think so. I fell by the pool table, and some guy picked me up and we – yeah. Um, what does he look like?" I asked, racking my brain again.

Edward shrugged, as many guys do when you ask their opinion on another guy's appearance. "Blonde hair, grey eyes, arrogant, a senior, and he won't stop talking about you."

I bit my lip. "Oh…him. Yeah, well, like I said, I was pretty toast, and I fell and he was helping me – or completely taking advantage of me – whatever you prefer."

Edward snorted. "Okay, you kissed more than 10 guys within a few hours."

"False." I said confidently. "Half that amount."

Edward nodded absentmindedly, raising his perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Jessica Stanley found you nearly naked underneath a certain 23 year old college football player."

I smiled at the funny memory, that must have been an awkward encounter for her – I wasn't that bothered by it. "True."

Edward's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, but he hid it quickly, bending over his paper to adjust the lighting.

Now that I thought about it – and about last night – I wasn't sure about Ryan's and my relationship. Usually I didn't give a crap about it, as long as a guy kept me laughing and entertained, I would be fine. But now, with my "open relationship" with Ryan, I was suddenly worried. Was it so wrong for me to hook up with him, and lead him on if I was trying so hard to casually seduce Edward Cullen? I bit my lip, and brushed my hair out of my eyes to examine my drawing. It was okay, but it held none of the beauty that Edward obviously possessed. I hollowed his cheeks slightly, and added shading on his neck to define his obviously well bred jaw line.

"Okay class, I would like you to trade pictures with your desk partner" Mr. Kettel interrupted my brooding.

I grudgingly exchanged my picture with Edwards – I was oddly excited and nervous about how he had depicted me, but I didn't want him to think my drawing was how he looked, it had no comparison.

I examined his drawing, attempting to keep a poker face, as I was secretly thrilled. And surprised; the girl on the page was really quite beautiful. And though I didn't consider myself to be too unfortunate looking, this was an exaggeration of my good(ish) features. The girl had long wavy hair like mine, but with more volume and life. She had had wide slanted eyes, which I did have – though I usually thought of them as being thin and squinty – but here they were beautiful, framed by great eyelashes, and even on the paper possessed a look of intelligence and joking flirtatiousness. Her nose was well proportioned and cute – unlike my honker, sitting between the girl's prominent cheekbones, which were placed over the hollow skin below. And her lips were full and wide, a hint of a smile playing at the edges – ready to spill secrets and stories of lust. That feature was correct – I was constantly smiling.

I glanced over at Edward; he too was scrutinizing the portrait of him, a slight crease between his perfectly shaped eyebrows. Did he pluck those? Or get them waxed or threaded? They were nicer than mine. Nicer than any girls or guys in this school. Everything about him was better than all of us.

"What do you think?" He asked, seeing that I was staring at him.

"It's really nice. I suppose that you forgot who you were supposed to be drawing though – this girl is hotter than a deep fryer on an American holiday." I said.

His frown deepened. "I drew you Alex, as I and any sane person see you."

"So are you calling me insane or hot?" I asked slyly.

"Probably both, I think."

I grinned at him. He glanced down at the drawing in his hands, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Sorry, it doesn't really resemble you at all." I said apologetically.

He seemed to disagree. "Alex, this is quite extraordinary." He murmured quietly.

"But you're like the definition of sex, and that doesn't work up to your looks at all." I explained, adjusting my low cut Urban Outfitters off the shoulder t-shirt.

Edward's eyes zeroed in on my neck, and I suddenly realized that I had forgotten about the hickeys; oh shit.

We were both distracted for a moment, and awkwardly looked away from each other. I was grinning; I loved awkward moments. A couple minutes later Edward glanced back at me, a sarcastic expression on his perfect, angular features.

"Sorry, what was it you defined me as?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Sex." I said simply, gazing intently into his wide eyes. He rolled his in response; he looked amused, but slightly wary as well.

"Why is it you would say that?" He voice was almost disapproving.

"Quite obviously you have captured the interest of at least every strait and bi girl in this school – probably some of the gays as well. You're tall, fit as a flea, have a great smile, are sexy as hell, and from what I can tell – brilliant and nice. What's not to like?" I asked rhetorically.

He frowned in reply, seemingly ignorant of the obvious facts. "If you think that about me, then you should hear what all the males – probably some of the females are saying about you."

I considered that briefly, smiling. "Huh, fancy that." Was all I could come up with. He nodded absentmindedly. "All the guys" I pondered. "Does that include you?" I asked slyly. I knew I was pushing the limits – that's why I did it; for the embarrassing reaction or uncomfortable answer. I was not prepared for his curt nod and slight smirk though. Damn; yummy stuff.

"Well then" I said, resisting the urge to jump up and down in excitement – or to throw myself on Edward and start ripping off his designer clothes – "I guess we're just two sexy people sharing a desk in art class; how intimate." I smiled up at him.

He sighed and fiddled with his watch, like I was a hyperactive cat that one would have to wait patiently to calm down. Hm…

The rest of class dragged on, and I was practically bouncing in my seat the whole time, bored and full of energy. I used the opportunity to get as much as I could out of gym, sprinting across the gymnasium and sliding on my knees to bump impossible balls.

It began to drizzle as I walked home, and continued through the night. My parents were staying late in the city, so once I was home from dance, I prepared some curry and naan, and sat down with my cat. She stared at me through the entire meal, purring and occasionally attempting to steal my food. I loved my cat; I was closer to her than anyone.

Once I had eaten, I caught up on neglected homework and e-mails. The English essay that was due the following day was simple, as well as the page of math; emailing my friends however, was proving difficult. I missed them a bit, but not enough to write a heartfelt essay either. They had emailed me, updating me on the gossip at my old school, and how they missed me and such. I composed a group e-mail to a few of my closest friends.

_Hello my sweet little pieces of mint,_

_I miss you all like a chocoholic misses Easter in July. I'm pretty good – glad to hear that you all are enjoying yourselves. Forks is…small. Not as abysmal as I had initially predicted, but I'm still adjusting. The school is okay; quite boring, and the teachers treat us like we should worship them – not like our equals. It's quite shocking, but I'll survive. My drawing teacher is okay – quite eccentric really. Also in art, is my desk partner: Edward Cullen. He is the single sexiest piece of sex out there. Actually, I'm so serious; it practically hurts to look at him knowing you could never have a chance with someone like that. He is tall (of course you all know I go for the ones over 6': P), I'd say around 6'3" or 4". He's really fit, like seriously nice muscle, although I've only seen him with clothes on – hopefully that can change in the near future though ;). I know I'm acting like a stalker, but he's incredible; really angular defined features and sexy tousled bronze (!) hair. Breathtaking. _

_Last Friday one of the seniors or juniors had a back to school party which I attended. It was pretty fun, got with a few people, and one of them I'm sort of in an "open relationship thingy" with now. He's pretty cool, 23 years old (I know! I'm not a slut though – yet), plays football in college, rides a motorcycle, fit, hot, etc. He's cool, but not very interesting – unlike Edward Cullen, who's pretty much brimming with mysteries. I'm pretty obsessed, hopefully I'll have made some progress with him soon, but I don't want to seem too forward too soon. _

_Goodbye my munchkins,_

_Xoxo, Alex_

They would send shocked e-mails back probably within the hour, demanding details or joking about my sluttiness. I was too tired to reply again, so I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

The rain had continued through the night, and I woke up to its pattering sounds in the morning. It was getting chilly, so after I showered and moisturized my shaven legs, I dressed in my favourite pair of zebra print jeans, paired with a dark eggplant coloured three quarter sleeved scoop neck tight long shirt.

I put some bread in the toaster, and encountered my mom waiting for me in the sitting room.

"Alex, we've all been so busy lately, that I haven't a chance to see how you're, well, adjusting to Forks. How is it for you?" She seemed concerned.

I spread some Earth Balance and raspberry jam on the slightly burnt toast, and looked up with a smile. "I'm fine mom, the transition hasn't been as difficult as I had predicted. The people at school are pretty nice in general, sort of typical teenagers trying to fit in with each other – which you know I can't stand – but there are plenty of attractive guys." I grinned at my toast as I took a bite.

I heard her sigh behind me. "Alright, but be careful, they're probably older and, well, more worldly. They may want different things from you than you want from them." Uh, fat chance.

I finished my toast, brushed my teeth, grabbed my text books, stuffed them in my vintage over the shoulder bag, grabbed my beige trench coat, and walked outside into the rain.

I was uncharacteristically unfocused during the lessons, my mind wandering to yesterday's conversation with the sex god. How could I get him to do more than talk? With a few drinks maybe; I could throw a party. He didn't come to Jason's, but from what I could tell, the Cullen's kept to themselves – apart from Edward talking to me. I nearly squealed like a pig with excitement at that thought. I wouldn't want to throw a party right away, there had been one last weekend and Forks didn't seem like the party every day and night type of place. I didn't want to seem too desperate, just average flirting for now. Perhaps make him a little jealous to see that I don't have my eye only on him.

Throughout lunch I made sure to speak to most of the guys at my table that would ever have a chance with me. I occasionally glanced at the Cullen's table – and was glad to see that he would occasionally be scowling at the object of my attention.

After I put my juice squeeze in the recycling, and grabbed my books, I was approached by Tyler Crowley. He didn't look as hot as he had when I had been drunk, but he was still pretty nice eye candy.

"Hey Alex" He said, looking around sheepishly.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked, noticing Edward walking towards the doors, about 7 or 8 meters from where I was.

"I'm pretty good, you?" Tyler asked looking more confident.

"I'm pretty decent." I smiled flirtatiously. Edward was about to walk through the door now, right beside us. I raised my voice slightly as I said coyly "Sorry for leaving you alone in that room last Friday, is there any way I can make it up to you?" I asked in a sultry voice.

From what I could see of Edward's flawless face, he looked displeased. Tyler looked slightly surprised and was attempting a reply. I ignored him; now that Edward was gone I could drop the façade. "Right, I'm going to be late for class. I'll see you around."

He nodded, still looking for words. I smirked, redid my messy bun, swept across my blonde bangs, and walked towards the classroom confidently.

Once in the class, I walked through the rows to my seat, enjoying the stares as people took in my eccentric outfit. I flashed a smile at Edward, who had looked up at the board. His answering nod was confident and aloof; I bit my lip to suppress a smile.

"Wow, nice pants, Alex" Mike Newton said in an appreciative voice.

"Thanks, Mike, want to get in them?" I asked jokingly. He stuttered, and looked at his sketchpad, blushing. Oh dear, the sad gullible people at this school.

I glanced at Edward with curiosity as I took my seat next to him. He was glaring daggers into the back of Mike Newton's head. Amazing.

Mr. Kettel spent the entire class looking through our portraits, commenting on them, and holding them up for the class to see. Most people ducked their heads when he brought up theirs. I wanted to when he held up mine, having to draw Edward had not been fair, who could fully capture the face of perfection? Maybe him. But I had slightly more dignity than the others, and kept my back rim rod strait as always.

When the teacher held up Edward's drawing of me, I was reminded of the point of our conversation the previous day. "Edward" I said quietly "What conclusion did you come to regarding yesterday's conversation?"

He tilted his head towards me, interested. "I decided that you are not the full fledged thing, merely provocative enough to plant that seed in people's minds."

"So not a slut, a flirt?" I asked smiling. He sighed at my language like an adult would, but nodded.

At this point Mr. Kettel had passed out the drawings to us, and I went to hand one to Edward. His had brushed mine during the transition, and I nearly gasped at the temperature. His hand was freezing, and hard, like a block of ice. A sexy block of ice, mind.

"Sorry" he murmured, so quietly I could barely understand him. He took his hand away, and grabbed the other side of the paper. My hands and body was always cold – side effects of being anemic and not having much fat – but I could feel the extreme temperature difference with just a quick brush of my hand. Instead of feeling slightly repelled, I was feeling oddly…turned on? Or, at least I wanted to feel the rest of him.

That night after pointe class, I decided to watch Interview with a Vampire – now that I had finished reading it for the 5th time. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and fangs. Why not? I'd always had a thing for vampire stories; there was something very fascinating and alluring about the undead, immortal villains and – in this case – protagonists.

I was suddenly startled by the acute physical resemblance between Louise and Edward. They both had pale skin, bruise like shadows around their eyes, and an air of mystery and age about them. Maybe that was why I was so attracted to Edward, he reminded me of a vampire.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so so much for the reviews. I can't express how thankful I am that my story is (so far) being accepted. I'm going on a wilderness trip for a couple weeks, so I'm so sorry, but after either this or the next chapter I won't be updating for sometime. **

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga.

The Halloween party was all planned, and as my parents would be conveniently spending the night in Seattle, I didn't need an excuse to get them out of the house. Now my only job was to spread the news. I discreetly sent Jessica a note in Spanish, explaining what needed to be done.

_Greetings my six fingered friend,_

_Do you have any plans for Halloween? Yes is the answer. I'm throwing a party. Come in costume or naked. Spread the word. _

_Alex_

I slid the folded paper under my lime green converse clad foot, and slid it across the aisle to Jessica's feet, yawning to hide my sudden expansive stretch. Jessica finally got it, and accepted the note from my foot with her DC skate shoe.

She read it under her desk, produced a black thin tip sharpie and scrawled down her reply. Casually tossing the paper to me when the teacher's back was to us.

_Oh my god, Alex! It will be like so fun, I'll totally invite everyone at lunch today. Are you going to invite Ryan or Edward Cullen?_

I considered this briefly, then tucking the slip of paper in a pocket of my turquoise skinny jeans I shrugged and mouthed "We'll see" in reply. I would definitely invite Edward – that was one of the main reasons I was having this party. Ryan, on the other hand? Well, if he showed up then I would let him in. I could send him a last minute text, too.

At lunch the students were already buzzing with excitement for my party, debating what drinks or dates to bring, and what costumes to wear.

In Art I took my seat next to Edward like I did everyday – too aware of him, and my body's reactions to him. Mr. Kettel was at the front of the class, holding a large clump of shell infested seaweed; what an odd man.

"Children, my lovely children, I have been inspired, and I want you all to be as well." He seemed ecstatic about wherever he was taking this.

"We are going on an adventure; I want you to find the beauty of the marine life – we are going kayaking!" He practically cried, enthusiastically throwing his arms in the air, and unknowingly creating a shower of seaweed for the front row.

"This Friday. I've already arranged it with your other class teachers, and I'll be sending these lovely permission slips home in your pockets today." He continued, ignoring the gagging front row.

He spent the rest of the lesson getting us to draw the algae. I took advantage of his not talking to us to talk to Edward.

"Hey, I'm having a party on Halloween. Will you come?" I asked, sounding as casual as I could, adding a teal shadow in the left corner of the page.

He was quiet for some time; I looked up to see if he had heard me. "Yes, I'll see you there." I hid my grin in my sketchbook.

"Alright costume's mandatory" I said, imagining the outcomes if he didn't wear one…drool.

"I'll be in costume; I'd rather not be naked then." He said, chuckling. I would rather he was naked then – but maybe another time.

Wait, how did he know that you had to come naked if not in the costume? I had only told Jessica, and I knew for a fact that no one had approached any of the Cullen's with this topic before me. I noticed Edward freeze in my periphery. "How did you know that nakedness was the result of no costume?" I asked casually.

"Lucky guess" he murmured, darkening a side of his seaweed with a graphite pencil.

"Hm" Was all I came up with.

"You don't believe me" He smirked, but there was an edge in his masculine voice.

"I think it would be much more interesting if you were, oh, psychic or something." I replied animatedly.

He laughed at my response "That would be interesting, as you say. Imagine all the bizarre thoughts I would encounter _every second_." He turned his penetrating eyes on my face with a knowing look. Oh dear god, would the implications never end? Did I want them to?

The bell rang then, signaling the end of class. "Bye Edward" I called as I walked out the door. He nodded in my direction, his features marred by a look of frustration.

The rest of the week passed without incident, and I learned I was becoming more comfortable in Forks. How odd. I was looking forward to Friday's fieldtrip – it would be a nice change from the classroom.

And perhaps Edward would feel the need to take off his shirt and swim. Yum.

"Hey Alex, will you pass me the vapor paddle on your left?" Mike called from 5 meters down the rocky beach. I picked up the double ended black paddle and handed it to him.

We were on a small crescent shaped beach just north of the school. It housed an even smaller boat rental shack, which we were currently rummaging through for the proper kayaks for our trip. Mr. Kettel had been very clear that he wanted us in single kayaks, so that if "the ocean called to us we would be able to scurry off by ourselves and not interrupt the others". Personally I was pleased by this, paddling with others always slowed one down, and this way I could sneak up to another's boat, hold onto the rutter, and not be noticed. Not everyone was contented by this; I could see Jessica glaring at the teacher, and occasionally throwing Mike wistful looks. Mike was too busy staring at me to notice though. Ugh, another guy that wanted in my pants. I cracked a smile.

"Okay everyone, climb aboard your new boat friend, and let's enjoy the surrounding nature!" To say Mr. Kettel was excited was an understatement. He was clad in a head to foot wetsuit with royal blue starfish etched on it, and grinning from ear to ear.

I pushed my kayak a bit farther in the water, walked down towards the water with my feet on either side of the boat, and while keeping my knees bent, carefully slid in. The boat rocked a bit from side to side, and I picked up my paddle and pushed off the shore with it. Once everyone was safely in their boats – though some people already falling in the ocean before they were even fully in the kayak – we headed out of the bay, and into the open water.

"Er" began Mr. Kettel, "So the waves aren't ideal, but perhaps the unusually active surface will bring along some marvelous creature for us to examine."

Of course what he was saying was an understatement. The ocean surface was frothing and rippling with whitecaps and uneven, randomly large waves. It was my favourite type of weather on the ocean, with the northwest wind bringing in a warm current, but it was a bit different in a kayak.

We paddled along the tree shaded coast, occasionally commenting on irregular shaped or coloured marine life and algae, prompted by the insufferably enthusiastic teacher. Something reddy orange caught my eye, and I paddled away from the coast, towards whatever it was. I noted that the rest of the group was paddling ahead, with Edward way in the front. Of course, fucking fit as a flea that kid.

I sighed and turned back to where my boat was facing – only to muffle a cry of surprise! A random wave had suddenly made contact with my boat, knocking my paddle out of my hands, and into the frothing water where it drifted out of reach, and turning my boat so it was parallel with the shore. This was fine – if one was paddling. But I wasn't, so I was suddenly vulnerable to the rocking murky depths. Another smaller, faster wave came towards my susceptible kayak, and tipped it over, sending me head first straight into the chilly water.

The stupid kayak rental shack hadn't believed in skirts, so instead of flipping myself back up, I was forced to maneuver myself out of the upturned boat. I shot up out of the water a moment later, spluttering and laughing, while reaching for the boat.

I glanced at my classmates to see if they had noticed my failed excursion. They were barely insight now, paddling into an inlet. Shit; I would have to get in the kayak and paddle like I'd had ten redbulls in order to catch up. Once again I reached for my boat, turned it so it was facing the waves head on (not wanting a repetition of getting dunked) and began to turn it right side up.

Another rebel wave appeared then, knocking the boat out of my hands, and completely out of the water, where it fell from landing with an audible smack on my soaked head.

Suddenly everything went black, black and very wet, with a distant ringing in my ears, not unlike a persistent mosquito. The water was everywhere, and my head hurt a lot despite the numbing temperature.

Don't panic Alex, I told myself, desperately fighting against the suddenly strong current. I saw a dark shadow to my left, and on instinct inhaled – a mouth full of salt water. I couldn't breathe or think coherently, so I relied on my muscles to get me to my kayak. I thrashed out with my limbs and beat redundantly at the ceaseless torrents of salt water.

Suddenly the shadow appeared again, much closer, and I felt a pair of arms wrap around my slight waist. I could tell who it was by the temperature of their evidently muscled arms, which were even cooler than the arctic water.

Our heads broke the surface moment later; Edward had his usual calm façade on, while I was spluttering up what felt like half the world's supply of salt water.

"Alex, Alex, are you okay?" Can you hear me?" Edward asked, pulling me slightly higher so my neck was out of the water.

I was suddenly distracted by how smashing Edward looked after probably nearly drowning himself. His hair was wet, and slopped randomly across his dripping forehead, and the water clung to his eyelashes, which surrounded his excited, albeit worried eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I spluttered.

I glanced up to the inlet where our classmates had been headed. Only the last couple of students were in sight. I was suddenly aware of how alone we were, in the middle of the ocean, with Edwards's arms feeling great wrapped around my fit waist. A feeling other than panic and freezingness passed through my body, and I bit my numb lip to hide my sudden creeper smile. He suddenly released me from his stalwart grasp, a disapproving look on his gorgeous, dripping features.

Just then another wave knocked my forgotten kayak towards me, headed for my head again! One of Edward's arms was suddenly fastened around me again, while the other reached up and caught the boat in mid air, denting the side with his hand. I gasped in disbelief. How the fuck did he do that? He threw a frown in my direction, and quicker than I though possible, had the boat bobbing innocently in the waves.

Once I was in, I paddled with my hands over to my own runaway paddle and retrieved it. Edward was still bobbing in the same spot, concentration in his torn expression. I noticed a piece of reddy orange plastic float by his head. Gr.

"Edward" I began, sounding slightly astounded despite the croaking voice. "Thanks so much. This sounds so cliché, but you saved my life and wow, how the fuck did you get over here?"

He looked up, his face carefully confused, "What do you mean? I was paddling in the back the whole time, and I'd wondered what you'd seen to make you part from the group, so I paddled over as well. And frankly, I didn't trust your reflexes so much in this current."

I stared at him, confused, "No, I saw you at the front. And even if you were at the back, that still wouldn't explain how you got over here so fast." He began to argue back so I quickly cut him off. "And, ignoring that, can you tell me why there is now a dent in my boat with your hand print?" I indicated it with my paddle, splashing my face in the process. Well, he had been right about my reflexes – despite being a dancer and all; I was a class a klutz.

"My hand? I doubt it Alex" He said my name with an amount of contempt that surprised me, "It's probably from your head, I saw you hit it hard on the boat, and it definitely sounds like it too."

I gaped at him, too shocked by his sudden antagonism for words. He had just rescued me, why was he acting like a bitch now?

I was quiet for a moment, thinking of a come back for that. "I'm sorry Edward, if I offended you by saying that you have fucking brilliant, albeit inhuman reflexes. I was simply expressing my gratitude, and impressed disbelief."

He sighed in response and began to swim towards the inlet. I paddled beside him, pondering what had just passed.

When we caught up with the group, no one seemed to have noticed our absence. Mr. Kettel took in my and Edward's wet clothes once we were back at the rental shack. "Did you decide to go for a dip?" He asked laughing.

I nodded, laughing awkwardly as well. Why did I wear a tight white shirt today? All the guys seemed to have forgotten about the existence of my face.

Once we were back at the school, Edward pulled me aside to his car – the only decent one in the lot – a shiny silver Volvo. Was he going to finally explain his bizarre actions? The first words out of his mouth, however, made me doubt that highly.

"Alex, you hit your head quite hard, I'm going to take you to the hospital to see if you have a concussion." He said, looking around my head, his tone expressionless.

"Thanks for your concern, but I think I'll be fine." I said, cautiously looking at him. I turned to go in the opposite direction. He grabbed my jacket before I could, and dragged me to the passenger door. Oh yes, be rough with me, I thought, running my hands through my still drying hair.

He let go, like I thought he would, opened the passenger door, walked around to the driver's side, and climbed in. Of course I followed suit, willing to go anywhere with Edward. _Anywhere_.

He turned on the luxury model vehicle, adjusted the heating and pulled out of the school parking lot. The ride was mostly silent, I would occasionally try to make casual conversation, but Edward would barely answer. What the hell was his problem? Shouldn't he be all macho and confident after saving a damsel in distress?

Once we arrived at the hospital, there was no wait. Edward and I simply glided through the hallways and wards completely unperturbed by the surrounding chaos. Once he explained to some doctor that I should get an ex-ray because I hit my head, everything went smoothly and efficiently. I didn't get to say one peep, everyone just told me what to do and why.

I was sitting in the waiting room reading a vogue magazine when Edward and an incredibly sexy man walked in. He was probably in his mid 20's, with blonde hair and pale striking features. This was obviously Edward's adoptive father: Carlisle Cullen.

"Hello, you must be Alex. I'm Dr. Cullen, and I have your results from the x-ray." He said in an attractive voice. I nearly started purring.

"Hello. Oh okay, excellent. Am I going to go bonkers or am I fine?" I asked with a smile.

He gave Edward a quick what-the-fuck-is-she-on look, and glanced at the clipboard in his pale hands. "You only have a minor concussion. To prevent anything more serious, set your alarm for every two hours. You won't have the most restful sleep, but it should only last for the weekend."

"Oh okay thanks. So can I go? I really want a shower and dry clothes and coffee." I said like a chipmunk.

He chuckled as he replied, "Yes, of course. Do you want me to notify your parents so they can pick you up? Or would you prefer if Edward drove you?"

Hm, a difficult decision. And yet not. "Well, they're probably at work." I said slowly, trying to sound like I was deliberating. I turned to Edward trying to appear hesitant, but hopeful, "Would you mind dropping me off?"

He smirked and took his car keys out of his fitted uber sexy black Diesel jeans. I would trade places with his keys any day. Yum.

He held the car door open for me, smirk still in place, staring at my face with a knowing look. Creeper.

"Hm," I began, once we were out of the parking space, "A concussion, I guess you were correct."

"I usually am" He sounded smug. Ah, confidence was such a turn on. "You'll only be able to sleep for two hours at a time though."

"Yeah, but why bother?" I asked, "If I'm going to be up for most of the night I can think of some other uh, activities that would be much much more entertaining." I winked at him. He rolled his eyes in response and increased the speed at which we were flying by.

"Holy fuck, Edward, slow down." I said. We were going over 120 k/m h on a small two lane street.

"You think in kilometers, Alex, in the U.S. we drive faster." He said, increasing the speed even more.

"I know that, but it's still quite irrational to be driving this fast. What's the hurry?"

"I always drive this fast, besides, we're not going to crash." He said calmly, picking up his iPod in the dock and turning it to "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.

"I don't doubt your reflexes" I said as we shared a sour look, both remembering today's earlier activity, "More that if, say a deer or squirrel peeped its head onto the road it would be killed immediately." I shuddered at the thought.

"Well, there's something to say for a quick death." He sounded almost wistful.

I inhaled a gasp, my vegan instincts fully kicking in. He looked over at me confused. "Oh, you're serious."

"Yes, why would I joke about the death of an innocent animal?" I asked indignantly.

"You're one of those activists," It wasn't a question.

"Yes" I said confidently, albeit a bit smugly.

"Why, why do you want to protect the animals?" He wasn't delivering in an accusatory tone, simply intrigued.

"I simply want to eliminate as much suffering as possible. Why not start in a place where we all have control over what effect we have?" I asked rhetorically.

He raised his eyebrows. "The kitchen" I stated.

"Ah" He nodded.

Our conversation had distracted me from my original intentions for driving home with Edward - other than wanting to have sex with him.

"So…How did you save me earlier?" I asked, truly interested.

He sighed. "I told you, I paddled over to see what you had found so interesting. Then you were out of the kayak, got hit on the head, and I jumped in and pulled you up. Head injuries can make you confused."

I sighed as well. "And if that were true, how did your hand print get indented into a fucking kayak?" I asked.

He didn't bother answering that, though a sneer was seemingly carefully placed on his perfect face. "What do you think happened then?"

I gave a fake laugh to lighten the mood, "Basically what you said, not quite in that order though."

"And if it did occur the way you saw it, how would you explain that in a rational way that made even one person think you didn't have a head injury?" He asked his voice acidic. Mm, he could be my acid. I wouldn't mind taking a trip on him – I was already addicted. Dirty thoughts Alex, shut up brain.

"That you aren't really human, I guess." I said, glancing at my mobile for water damage. It seemed fine, how odd. I did have a new text message from Ryan. I ignored it. When with Edward it was impossible to believe that any other guy could be even slightly attractive.

He was silent. I glanced up at him; his hair was mostly dry, and very distracting. "Are you?" I asked sounding impressed.

"No one will believe you." He sounded calm, but his knuckles were hard on the steering wheel. Mm, I wanted him hard on me. Shut up brain. We had reached my house by now, so I had to make my thoughts clear.

"I don't mind that, I'm not viewed as the most trustworthy person, so I wouldn't blame them. But I will belief what you tell me, so why not the truth?" I asked, taking my hair out of its messy bun, and attempting to come through it with my fingers. It was full of seaweed.

"You're such a martyr." He said in an even more attractive voice than Dr. Cullen's. I worked hard to keep my pants on. I saw him roll his eyes in my peripherals. It seemed sometimes as though he could read my mind, now that I thought back on it. His reactions, however subdued, to my thoughts rather than my words seemed quite probable.

Could he hear my thoughts now? How could I test if he could? _Edward, _I said in my brain, _can you hear me? _I glanced at his face. It was perfectly smooth, staring out the windshield. I decided to try again: _MEOW! _He still made no obvious expression of hearing me. Hm. _Edward, you are so ridiculously incredibly sexy. Why not just take it to the back seat right now?_

He grimaced, with a quick sly glance in my direction. Excellent. I still wasn't sure if he could – it could simply be a lot of coincidences – but still, the thought was entertaining.

I turned to the object of my curiosity – and fantasies. "Thanks, for saving me, and the hospital stuff, and chauffeuring me around." I could give you a ride of sorts in return, I thought intentionally loudly. He exhaled loudly, forcing a smile on his face.

"No problem, I couldn't just sit there in the kayak a _few feet _away from you." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"More like a few kilometers" I grumbled.

He laughed at my expression, looking smug. "We'll see."

"Bye Edward" I said seductively, checking him out as I reached for the door handle.

"Goodbye" He answered looking straight ahead. He sped out of the driveway, leaving me with an odd feeling in my stomach. I really liked Edward Cullen, more than as just eye candy.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga.

By Monday I was so tired from my lack of sleep, that I filled my large coffee thermos with the darkest roast I could find in the house – after I had my daily mug of it. My parents hadn't seemed too concerned about my near drowning after I had told them I had a minor concussion. They had basically said that if I felt like I was going to snuff it, I could notify them.

The lessons dragged on; as I discreetly munched through the energy bars I had stuffed in my bag. In art Edward didn't greet me as usual, and initially I wasn't too concerned, but his silence dragged on, and I was worried for how long this would last.

With five minutes left in the kelp drawing lesson, I decided to try a nice casual conversation. "So Edward how was your weekend?" I asked, searching through my pencil case for a celadon green.

"Fine" he muttered, not looking away from the sheet of paper in front of him. I waited for him to elaborate, but he remained silent.

"That's," I struggled lamely for a moment "Nice."

I waited a couple more minutes, but he was still mute. "Is something wrong? Can I help you in _any_ way?" I tried to keep my voice normal and chipper, though in the last sentence it wanted to drop to a provocative sultry tone.

He finally looked up from his masterpiece with a sigh. "Alex, it would be better if we weren't as sociable with each other. You should stay away from me."

Didn't see that coming. "What an odd thing to say, Edward. Why would I avoid you, though? You're nice eye candy." I rationalized.

He exhaled sharply. "Is that all the matters to you?" He asked aggressively.

"Is what all?" I asked innocently. I could see that he was being serious while saying this, but I couldn't help but laugh at him. I was a pretty awful person, I grinned at that thought – he didn't.

"Sex." He whispered angrily. Ah…that word sounded amazing coming from him. I was lost for a moment in more inappropriate fantasies. The desk trembled briefly as he gripped onto it. Was he on steroids? Or not human? Hm, an interesting debate.

"Not really," I answered serenely. "Eliminating suffering is important to me." And you, I added silently, still wanting to test if he could read minds.

"Do you not care at all for self preservation?" He asked. He still seemed at bit mad, but more subdued.

"I don't think I understand. Are you saying staying away from you will help enable my safety? Then that makes Friday's little rescue mission redundant." I said.

He was definitely calmer now, but he seemed anxious. "What I'm suggesting is more preventative."

I bit my lip "You're a teenage male Edward, you should be thinking sex, food, and more sex. Why do you care about "preventative safety" for me?"

He was quiet for a moment. "You're correct, most males think along those lines. In answer to the question though, I want to avoid hurting you" He murmured the last part.

"How could you hurt me? I mean, I'll let you get rough with me anytime if you like it _that way_…" I said in a suggestive tone.

The bell cut off his answer, and with no more than a shrug of his perfectly defined shoulders, he was out the door leaving me rather confused.

In gym we had moved on to badminton, which I could somewhat manage, though I hit myself a couple times more than the birdie.

I had a pointe class at 4:30, so I walked straight from the school to the studio. Once I had changed into my open back navy blue leotard with black cut off tights over, I taped up my toes, and tied up the painful satin shoes.

The instructor warmed us up at the barre, and then we moved to the centre space, where we worked on fouttes. These were still challenging for me on pointe, but I was able to do 16 turns now. At my old dance school we had had boys, therefore pas de deux, but there were only three main dance schools in Vancouver that did that, so Forks had none. It was a disappointment, as being lifted and held by the guys was fun and interesting for everyone involved.

When the 1 ½ hour class had finished, I dragged myself home and into the shower. My parents would be home within the hour, so I fed the cat and heated up the leftover quinoa and lentils.

After food and homework, I wanted time to ponder what Edward had said earlier, so I made an excuse that I was tired to my parents, and headed upstairs. In my room I dressed in my make shift pajamas – black spandex shorts and a Rolling Stones t-shirt, grabbed my Mac book, and settled on my bed.

I stared at the screen for a couple minutes, trying to identify what Google's symbology for the day meant. Then I quickly typed in what came to my mind: What is fast, pale, strong, cold, and attractive.

About three million different answers appeared, highlighting certain words from my lame attempt at identifying what Edward was: From recipes, to famous actor deaths, but nothing superhuman. I would probably have to get more information than what I had just observed over these few weeks.

I closed the laptop with a sigh, put it on the dark wood desk, and curled up on my bed with Alice kneading me through the synthetic quilt.

I dreamt that I was drowning again. The salt water of my subconscious tasted very real, and I tried to spit it out without avail. Edward appeared as he had in reality, wrapping his arms around me, but this time too tight, so what little breath was left in my water logged raw throat was forced out in a whoosh. Suddenly one of Edward's hands rose to my face, cupping the side as though he were going to kiss me, but then moving to the front and squeezing till my mouth was forced open.

I fought back, but his hands dug in deep, I could feel my mandible bruising from the strain and pressure. My mouth was forced open wider, and torrents of salt water ripped through my throat, choking me. Edward looked at me, and his eyes were a gleaming red.

"I can hurt you." He whispered, somehow managing to be sexy while killing me.

I tried in vain to wiggle out of his iron grasp to the surface. He held me closer to his body which was even colder than the water; he bent his head so his lips were beside my frozen ear. For a moment I forgot to struggle.

"I want to hurt you." His voice was even lower, and much more menacing. He leaned even closer so his sharp teeth were grazing my ear.

He started nibbling on it, and then suddenly the vast expanse of ocean surrounding me was polluted by a stream of potent red. He had bit off my ear.

I was so shocked I woke up, coughing and spluttering like I had actually been drowning. I was feeling unsettled, so I sat up to pick up Alice, expecting her to be at the foot of my bed where she had slept through for every day we'd owned her. When I found my cover's empty, I looked around startled.

My room was dimly lit by the eerily green florescent light of my alarm clock. I looked around and spotted the cat sitting in front of my door, staring at my window. Her hackles were raised, as was the fur on her back, and her tail had expanded to about four times its normal width. A sign I knew well to indicate fear.

"Ali, what's wrong?" I asked her, hoping she could somehow indicate with a whisker or two her problem.

She continued to stare out the window in evident anxiety. I staggered over to the door, scooped her up and brought her to my bed. She shivered and growled as I passed the window.

Once she had curled up on my duvet, I gently pried open the window and looked out. I couldn't see anything in any direction – I even looked up at the roof as I had seen many horror movies where the unsuspecting victim forgot to look above.

I felt unsettled; the dream was still strong in my mind. Reluctantly I crawled back into my warm bed, imagining the following day. I hoped Edward wouldn't have these ridiculous ideas still in his beautiful head. Besides, the dream was, after all, only a dream.

The next morning I was anxious as I got dressed, distracted and looking around at the slightest disturbance. It was chillier outside today, so I dressed in a teal wrap sweater dress, with grey fake suede high boots from Aldo. Once my teeth were exuding the scent of my natural mint toothpaste, I grabbed my shoulder bag and Starbucks thermos of black coffee and, shivering in the overcast light of day, walked to school.

The first lessons were easy; I found my dirty mind wandering to places it shouldn't have been. I wasn't hungry at lunch, so while in line with Jessica and Mike, I refilled my coffee and waited for them to get their trans fatty foods.

"Oh my god, Alex" I heard Jessica stage whisper.

"What?" I asked, concentrating on pouring a teeny bit of brown sugar in my coffee.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you."

Oh damn.

"Hot stuff" I consented, screwing the lid back on the stainless steel coffee vessel.

I finally looked up, and met a pair of inquisitive topaz eyes. He was sitting in a separate area from his family – from the shocked looks of passing students, I gathered this was a first.

I grinned at him with a geeky wave, hoping to embarrass Jessica and any girl standing by me. Sure enough, they all turned into tomatoes. He scowled playfully back, but raised his hand in a summoning gesture.

"Oh my god! What does he want with _you_?" Jessica asked.

"Sex" I answered nonchalantly. Now it was time to embarrass Edward. I doubted it would be possible, but I wanted to try. "Every art lesson he tries to feel me up, and he talks really dirty. I know you wouldn't expect it, it was a shock for me the first time as well."

Jessica stared at me, too stunned for words. I chanced a glance at Edward – his mouth was agape in disbelief. I tried to maintain my composed expression, but of course I snorted.

"Oh, wait, you're joking! Dude, I totally like, for a moment believed you!" Jessica trilled. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, I'll see you later." I said, not wanting to delay my eating – drinking – with Edward any longer.

I approached his table, coffee in hand, and took a seat opposite him as I said hi.

"Alex." He greeted me with a sour smirk.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked innocently, glancing at his empty table, and then returning my eyes to his face like a super attracted magnet.

"No. Aren't you?" His eyes performed the same circuit as mine.

I answered by sipping my beverage. "I thought you wanted to stay away from me. Sitting at lunch together usually isn't viewed as one of the best ways to ignore a person's existence."

He sighed, as though hoping to put that off – or to word it in a different way. "I see now that, despite my efforts, you won't be able to ignore me. And" he glanced away, as though hiding embarrassment "despite my own efforts, I won't be able to ignore you."

I took that in, not really sure what to reply to that. "Huh."

"You're in too deep" He concluded somberly.

"Well, you're welcome to get deep in me too." I said hoping to cheer him up. He looked slightly freaked out though. "Oh wow, sorry, that came out really wrong. I didn't intend for it to mean, er, _that_, but you're welcome to do that too." I smiled.

"You're so bizarre." He murmured, leaning into me slightly.

"Thanks" I grinned at him.

He glanced over my shoulder. "You're friends aren't very pleased with me taking you".

I wondered if he knew how appealing his voice was. "Well I'm pleased; you can take me _any_ time" I concluded with a wink.

He sighed, and unscrewed the lid to my energy, sniffing the contents with a disgusted face. I ignored him, knowing he was trying to turn the subject in a different direction.

"And how is it you know they aren't pleased?" I asked, pushing back the cuticles on my right hand.

"I can tell," He answered innocently. Hm.

There was an awkward silence, and I hoped to prolong it, but I realized the minutes were ticking away, so I broke it. "I had a dream about you last night."

"Did you really?" He asked, but is face wasn't surprised. That disturbed me. I quickly tried to block my mind from remembering the dream.

"Yes." I answered, focusing on my brain humming Fiddle on the Roof.

"And?" He said, looking irritated.

"You bit off my ear." I said simply.

"Ah." He said looking confused. "You also have a bizarre subconscious."

I smirked.

"Is that all you dreamed?" He probed.

"That's all I remember" I lied. But before I could stop it my dream played through my mind in fast motion: Edward grabbing me, drowning me, saying how he could hurt me, how he _wanted_ to hurt me.

I quickly picked up If I Were a Rich Man again, before he could see how the picture would cloud over with my crimson blood. I chanced a glance at his face, and saw that it was sad but also mollified in a way.

I cleared my throat. "So, what have you been up to lately?" I tried to pick up a normal conversation, not an easy feat with a superhuman.

He shrugged. "Whatever it is one would be up to. And yourself?"

"The same and trying to figure out what you are."

The long white hand that had been running through his messy hair froze. "And how is that going?" He murmured.

Before I could stop them, the images of my failed Google search went through my head, my brain practically highlighting the words I had utilized. I quickly turned my thoughts to the first thing I could think of – which immediately embarrassed both Edward and I, as it was a slightly graphic fantasy. Ha. Ha.

"Not so well," I admitted.

"Do you have any theories?" He asked, folding his hands on the table.

"Not yet." I sighed, but my mind betrayed me of course, flashing steroids, and cartoon batmen across like a hyperactive canvas. I would have to practice some control over that. "Can't you just tell me?" I asked trying to keep the desperation out of my voice, but already knowing his answer.

"No." He said smugly.

"Please," I breathed, leaning forward and looking up through my thick black even without mascara lashes. "Of course I can give you something in return." Once again my mind was filled with inappropriate images.

He groaned quietly. Whoa, did I just have that effect on him? I tried to hide my excitement.

"No, I'm not groaning in _that_ way, much to your evident displeasure, I'm groaning, because you have a one track mind." He said arrogantly.

"Oh damn." I muttered.

He laughed. "You're so odd," He said again, "I've never met anyone quite like you."

A thought struck me then, and though I'm sure he saw it – though it was impossible to tell with his perfect poker face – I voiced it. "What you are, whatever that is…you are able to er, do _that_, right?"

He looked at the ceiling as he answered. "I may not be a completely normal human, Alex, but I am a man."

"You're not human?" I whispered, my voice rising 3 octaves.

His face said what he didn't: Oh shit.

"Well," I said, matching the arrogance and smugness with which he always spoke. "I suppose that gives me somewhere to start."

"I suppose." He murmured quietly.

He seemed sad or worried about what he had just said, and I could feel the stares and possibly glares of his family members on my teal clad back. I wanted to calm him down, but I wasn't the best at situations like this. "Hey, Edward, I don't really care that much if you aren't completely human." He was about to cut in, so I quickly extended my sentence. "If you can fuck, it's all good. In fact, you don't seem so brilliantly thrilled right now, why not ditch and find some much more interesting ways to entertain ourselves?"  
Instead of looking annoyed or mad, he had a speculative look on his chiseled face. "You put on a good show, but I can tell it's a cover up."

"What's a cover up?" I asked, honestly.

"You're whole thing of only thinking or caring about sex. What are you trying to hide?" He seemed interested.

"Oh. Wow. I'm not aware that I'm trying to hide anything." I said, mystified.

"I think you are." He contradicted. "I think you are trying to cover up emotions, you don't seem to be bothered if someone calls you a name, or hurts you."

I racked through my memory. Huh. "Nice, that might be true. I'm not very good with emotions, like if someone is crying, that just puts pressure on everyone else to do something. And if you do decide to go and comfort them, sometimes they're like 'leave me alone' or whatever. Being emotional about stuff is a waste of time, and too many people make choices based on how they 'feel' about it, isn't that ridiculous?"

He scrutinized my face for a moment. "It is astounding how much you resembled a robot right there."

I laughed with him for a moment. "Yeah, my family always makes fun of me, for trying to not be emotionally attached to anything."

"Then why do you do it?" He asked outright.

In frowned, "I guess if you are attached to anything, if it goes away, you're hurt. But if you aren't, you can view it rationally.

He seemed fascinated by my bizarre sentence that didn't even make sense to me. "Yes, there is definitely more to you than what you try to make seen."

I laughed at him as I pulled my ponytail to make it tighter. "You're trying to turn me into a mystery, now even I'm getting confused. But how did you see through me like that, like even the stuff I'm not thinking about?"

He looked into my devious green eyes intently as he answered, "The same way you saw through me."

I tried to understand that fully, but before I could Edward reminded me that we have class in a few minutes.

I picked up my coffee, took three more sips, then stood with him and walked through the cafeteria to the art room. I could feel the stares of hundreds of students on me, I grinned, held my head high (stuck out my chest slightly) and inched slightly closer to Edward. None of this went unnoticed by him of course; he pressed his perfect lips together, and looked straight ahead though his eyes would occasionally wander in my direction.

In art we watched a documentary on expressionism, so Edward and I were unable to continue our conversation.

After gym I walked home in the rain, thinking through our conversation. He really was quite different from anyone I'd every met. But I wanted to see more of him (both physically and psychologically).


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all for waiting for this:). Awesome trip in the wilderness, a couple bear encounters, but the guides all new what to do. I can't exactly claim the same here. Anyways, here's the Halloween party; enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga

It was October 31st today; I was sitting in the living room, sorting through the playlists on my iPod. My parents had already left for their two night trip to Seattle, trusting that I had arranged a sleepover with a friend, so it wasn't necessary to hide the evidence that a party would be occurring here tonight.

Packages of dry ice, a fog machine and two strobe lights littered the floor. As well as unopened packages of recyclable paper cups, and bottles of alcohol. The latter was courtesy of Ryan, whom I had asked to buy some. He had taken it upon himself to buy out close to the entire liquer store. I had rented the lighting effects and props in Seattle the previous weekend.

I had gotten up with the sun, and had a full schedule. Luckily today was a Pro-D day, so I had enough time to do everything. At the moment, I was figuring out which playlists to have blaring out of our new surround sound speakers, which had been conveniently placed around the house.

I wanted it to be slightly creepy – as it was a Halloween party, but also danceable. I decided to include Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, and lots of techno with underlying ghoulish sounds. With the trippy strobe lights, alcohol, fog which was programmed to fill the room every 20 minutes, and dry ice, I was pretty sure it would be effective.

For my costume, I had wanted something innocently slutty, and original. Thinking of horror movies that I had seen, I decided to literally be a clockwork orange. I began to cut out fabric, stitch it, paint it, and add the finishing touches. The result was an orange shaped dress, which was stuffed with balloons to appear round, which went from just under my armpits, to just below my butt, leaving the rest of me exposed: innocently slutty. The orange had a clock painted in black on the front, and when I would put my costume on I wanted it slightly creepier, so I would apply fake eyelashes and fangs.

It was almost six o'clock by now, so I put my costume in my room, threw on sweatpants and a cardigan, and put up the strobe lights.

Then I had to make a punch, which consisted of Smirnoff, ice, some horrifically bright pink soda pop, and fruit. Around the punch bowl I carefully placed the dry ice, ensuring that no one – even if they were wasted – would touch the toxic stuff.

I grabbed a bunch of shot glasses from the kitchen (my parents thought I used them to drink wheatgrass) and set them up with the rest of the booze on a table in the front living room. I had slightly rearranged the furniture to supply more room for dancing, and hidden any valuables in my parent's securely locked bedroom.

It was now 7:50, so I put on my full costume, and stood in front of my full length mirror. My eyes looked pretty bizarre with the super extended lashes, and my mouth even weirder with the fangs. My shoulders and neck were bare, so I applied a touch of highlighting bronzer on my collarbones that would be picked up eerily in the strobe lighting.

The balloons in my dress had unintentionally given me some unecessary cleavage. I smirked at that, imagining Edward's expression. My shaven and moisturized legs shone in the light from the setting sun, and my blonde hair shimmered slightly in the pins that secured it to my head.

I went downstairs, turned on the music, turned off the main lights, set up the strobe lights, and grabbed a beer. A rhyme I had learned as a 6th grader ran through my head then: "_beer before liquor you've never been sicker, liquor before beer you're in the clear"_. Oh shit. My fear of a hangover was only increased, as I realized I hadn't eaten anything that day.

My worries were interrupted as the doorbell rang. I picked up my almost finished beer, and danced across the hall in my green sock clad feet.

It was Jessica, Angela, Lauren, Tyler, and Mike.

"Hey guys." I grinned, giving them a view of my fangs – they all took a step back. Ha.

Jessica was something furry with ears, as well as Lauren, and Angela was clad in a 20's flapper dress. Tyler and Mike were in matching suits and sunglasses. Good luck wearing those under a strobe light. None were very original, but I was pleased they were dressed up, so I gave them each a peck on the cheek and sat them around a table while distributing shot glasses.

I poured into each of the glasses some fireball, and placed a few PowerAde's on the table as a chase. I sat between Tyler and Mike. "Alright, let's get the awkward parts over with a lovely quaint game of I Never."

They murmured their consent – a bit hesitant in slight cases. "Who wants to start?" Asked Mike; a very reasonable question.

"I will" Volunteered Lauren. "I've never smoked weed."

I laughed lightly, and took a shot with Tyler. He shrugged and whispered to me that he did it the previous year with a guy named Austin.

Jessica was beside her, fiddling with her hands. "Um…okay, I've never kissed anyone in this group."

Once again Tyler and I took a shot. He blushed when everyone stared at us – I revealed my fangs in a grin.

I leaned across the table and gave Jessica a loud smooch. "Now you have, drink up." I said simply, handing her a shot. She quickly downed it, and took a sip of the PowerAde to hide her cough.

"Okay, I've never taken off my shirt in front of a guy." Angela who was next said, blushing.

Mike, Tyler, Lauren, and I each took a shot. "Lauren?" I gasped. She blushed and glanced at Tyler who was also looking awkward. I giggled.

"Okay." Mike said, sparing them from my inquisition. "I've never been kissed." Everyone took a shot - clearly Mike wanted some alcohol.

It was my turn then. "I've never sent a person a picture of me, or certain parts of me."

All except me took a shot, I was shocked. Apparently sext was in vogue here. Tyler was about to go, when the doorbell rang again. I stood up, albeit a bit drunkenly, and skipped unevenly to the door.

Another van full of students arrived, I recognized Ben, Austin and Eric, but the others were mostly 11 or 12th graders.

"Hello." I greeted them with my fangs, holding the door open wider for someone in a ridiculously oversized canary costume.

I gave the people in my reach each a peck on the cheek, showed them to the booze where I grabbed myself a cupful of the punch, and made my way to the make shift dance floor. The fog machine had just let out a gust of artificial fog, so it was eerie and exciting grinding and jumping around to the slightly themed music.

For the next couple of hours I could feel my mind going fuzzy, only remembering certain parts of the night. Like the time Angela picked me up off the floor where I had been making out with a table leg, or when I scared a group 8th graders into the kitchen as I tried to kiss them while sticking out my fangs. I kept helping myself to drinks whenever I noticed my head hurting, and that's where I was when Ryan found me.

"Hey babe" He said, leaning in and kissing me. He pulled back a bit sooner than usual – not before trying to fondle my balloon filled dress unsuccessfully.

"How come you have, ah, fangs?" He asked, wiping his mouth.

"Why not?" I asked, holding onto his shoulder to steady myself.

"Alex, you're quite drunk, right?" He asked, an odd tone in his voice that I didn't really notice in my state.

"Mhm…" I murmured.

"Okay, I have some pills that will make your head not hurt." He said pulling a Ziploc bag out of his pocket.

"K. Hey, why aren't you wearing a costume? You'll have to take off your clothes." I said, frowning.

He looked impatiently around him. "Whatever, I just came to check on you. Here take this." He put a circular pill with a design on it in my mouth, and handed me an open bottle of Bacardi to down it with.

"Alex, I have to go meet my friend. I'll call you sometime." He said, staring at me as my eyes wandered around the room, the fog was really quite neat, I tried to give myself a pat on the back, but Ryan took my hand and pulled me in for a rough kiss.

My fangs eventually got in the way, and he quickly gave my butt a squeeze and walked out the door. I was feeling quite unstable, so I walked to a quieter place of the house, and lay on my back, staring at the strobe effect on the ceiling. It was trippy, and I was really toast, so I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes.

I had never noticed how _amazing _the carpet felt. I couldn't control my mind or hands as they ran through the soft floor.

It was twenty minutes later when _he_ came, I knew because the fog appeared again. "Is she sleeping?" He asked; his quiet voice just loud enough for me to distinguish it apart from the music.

I didn't open my eyes as I answered. "If I were I would ask you to join me, but I'm not, so I better greet you."

I heard a relaxed laugh that was also attractive, but not Edward's. The same voice said "I like her Edward; she's got a dirty mind."

"You're telling _me_?" Edward said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I opened my eyes slowly then, and staggered into a standing position. Edward was standing in front of me, looking amused and slightly freaked out in a vampire costume. Emmet Cullen was standing beside him, also in a vampire costume, but with bat wings on his back instead of the high collared Dracula like cloak Edward was wearing. They both looked dashing in black which contrasted their stark white skin.

Neither of them were wearing white make up, as they were so pale and, well, vampiric already.

Emmet and I grinned at each other. "Hey, you've got fangs as well! Want to see how they work together?" I asked, suggestively raising an eyebrow.

He laughed, obviously thinking I was joking. He must have changed his mind on that, because the next thing I was aware of was that I had leaned in and pressed my alcoholic tasting lips on his hard cold ones. He jumped back, and I heard Edward chuckle uneasily, next to me.

"Don't tell Rose that." Emmet told Edward, laughing as well, but now matching Edward's freaked out expression.

"Alright Edward, now it's your turn." I said, leaning in and pouting my red lips. He laughed lightly and sneakily stepped back.

"Aw fine." I said. "Maybe later, because those fangs suit you – I want you even more than usual."

He and Emmet shared a look as Emmet guffawed.

"Well, let's get some drinks in you sexy vampires." I said, leading them to the drink table.

I poured myself another cupful of punch, and offered them some. They each took a cup, but soon returned them to the table.

I heard the beginnings of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, and said "Let's dance!" to the guys, leading them to the floor. My head was so fuzzy that I had difficulty seeing, or thinking, but my body seemed to be doing all the work, dancing and talking and flirting.

A couple of the balloons in my dress had popped, so it was easier to dance now. I turned around so I was facing Edward, and despite his slight protests stood so our bodies would be touching if I didn't have a balloon filled dress. I swayed my hips from side to side, ran my hands through my hair and down my dress, and began to sing along to the suggestive lyrics while staring as intently as possible with glazed over eyes into Edward's dark topaz eyes.

_I want to fuck you like an animal_

_I want to feel you from the inside_

_I want to fuck you like an animal_

_My whole existence is flawed_

_You get me closer to God_

Edward was moving in sync to the music, but I could tell he was being careful to not get too close to me or anyone around him. He was so sexy; I wanted to jump him right then.

"Edward." I moaned drunkenly. "You're so amazing. I really want you badly. Like right now." I was spitting out random fragments of words, aware of an ominous feeling in my stomach, rising up my throat. "Shit."

I ducked under a couple dancing with their mouths, and tripped on a littered cup, landing on my front on the ground. For a moment I forgot about my queasiness. Even when I was wasted I never felt this odd, or out of control.

"Emmet." I heard a voice above me mutter as a pair of cold hands gently picked me up. Suddenly Emmet appeared beside my carrier – Edward of course.

"She's really far gone. And I think she's going to vomit again." He said, climbing up the stairs and down the hallway, into my bedroom, and finally arriving in my ensuite bathroom. Vomit again? Had I vomited then? I couldn't remember when then was.

Edward gently laid me on the ground, and brushed my bangs out of my face. I was pretty sure my whole hairdo had fallen out, as I felt no pins digging into my head – not that I could feel much.

The two Cullen's heads were swimming above me, they were so gorgeous. "You two are just so sexy. I'm totally fine with threesomes, and you're adopted, so it doesn't matter…" My voice trailed off as I hallucinated a cartoon program on the ceiling. Alcohol didn't do this – what pill had Ryan given me?

"I like this one Edward, she's not very shy." Edward grunted at Emmet's comment, looking at my eyes.

I grinned back at him. "Edward…mmm…even you're name is sexy. Don't you want to hear me say it? Don't you want to _make_ me say it?" I felt the rebelling alcohol rise up again, and quickly sat up, leaning into the toilet seat as I regurgitated my innards.

I felt Edward hold up my hair, and once I was done he passed me a damp face cloth. "And, I'm not only attracted to you because you're hot. You're also really sweet. Like most most er most guys I know would take advantage of me now, instead of helping." A few past situations flashed threw my mind then, I felt rather than heard Edward make a growling noise. Even that made me hot for him.

"I doubt many guys would want to take advantage of you if you would just pass out on them and vomit." Emmet pointed out with a laugh.

"And you too." I said, turning to smile at him, and then vomiting once more into the toilet. When I was done I continued my sentence. "You seem so easy going and laughteryness. I like that. But, sorry, Edward is the one that really makes me wet."

Emmet roared with laughter, while Edward grimaced, and held up my hair again. "I really really want you Edward, like I've never wanted anyone before. Please, do whatever you want with me, except ignore me." I begged, my vision going fuzzy as a ringing sounded in my eyes. I groaned, blew Edward a kiss, then suddenly everything turned black, and I lost consciousness.

**Edward Point of View**

I turned Alex on her side, so if she vomited again she wouldn't choke on it. I had been grimacing as she practically declared herself to me, while Emmet on the hand had been shaking with laughter, his mind already full of thoughts of telling the rest of our family.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" I asked Emmet. Neither of us had much experience with teen drinking.

Emmet shrugged. "Maybe call Carlisle."

I nodded and pulled out my cell phone and pressed the speed dial button.

"Hi Edward, is everything alright?" Carlisle said as he answered on the first ring.

"It's okay. But Alex er, drank a lot, and was vomiting and just passed out." I explained in a rush.

"Oh, you have her on her side, right?" He said immediately.

"Yes, of course. Do you think she needs to get her stomach pumped or anything?" I asked, wiping her golden hair away from her pale face. It was very beautiful.

"I doubt it, she'll probably regain consciousness quicker if she's away from the smell of the vomit, so clean it up and get her in clean clothes." Carlisle explained, as I heard Emmet's mind wander to images of getting Alex in clothes. I growled quietly.

"Thanks, Carlisle. I'll come home once I think she'll be okay." I said, throwing some paper towel and cloths at Emmet to clean up anything I had missed.

I put away my phone, and gently picked up Alex, carrying her into her bright yellow bedroom. It suited her. I placed her on her bed, and walked over to her closet, Emmet in tow, looking curious.

I grabbed her rather revealing make shift pajamas which I had seen on some of my stalker occasions, and placed them next to her body. Now was the awkward part, I'm sure if Emmet and I could blush we would be doing so right now.

"_W_e_ should take out the balloons first" _Emmet thought, I nodded and we proceeded to do so, our hands occasionally touching places they shouldn't have been – accidentally of course.

"Okay, now the dress." I said; my hands and voice shaking slightly. Grow up Edward, you're a vampire, you can handle undressing a random high school girl. But I knew she wasn't_ a_ random high school girl, she was _the_ random high school girl.

I quickly took off the ridiculous but admittedly original orange dress, and set it aside. We both gaped at her body for a few inappropriate minutes. Her neck ran uninterrupted down to her shoulders and long willowy, but muscular arms, her defined collarbones were set above her breasts which were partially obscured in a strapless turquoise bra.

I suppressed a groan, and I saw Emmet rocking back and forth on his heels, feeling guilty and trying to suppress the images, thinking of Rosalie.

Her ribs rose and fell with her steady quiet breath, slightly too close to the surface to be healthy, but attractive as they ran down to her navel. Even lying down I could see she had muscles there – probably the sought after six pack that so many girls tried weight loss programs for in vain. Her hip bones stuck out above her green low cut, and rather small underwear, I quickly passed my eyes over that area and to her thighs as an odd feeling made itself known in the pit of my stomach. Her legs were better than most gangly model's legs. They were very long and defined – no doubt from the hours of dance she did every week. I remembered times of sitting in Art class, listening as she thought of how much pain she was in from pulling muscles, or being sore from stretching. How I had yearned to help her, all the while unsure how to. And then she would catch my staring, and make a suggestive comment, or unintentionally loud fantasy, and I would lose control.

"Er, Ed, maybe we should dress her." Emmet said, breaking my thoughts.

I nodded, and pulled on her shorts, quickly removing my hands as they itched to touch places they shouldn't. I then pulled her large t-shirt over her head, and adjusted it.

She groaned slightly, her eyes blinking rapidly, and then finally staying open, still glazed over. She put her hand on her stomach, and before the thought entered her head I had rushed her in the bathroom, doubting I could prevent my wandering hands if I had to dress her _again_.

She was sick quickly in the toilet, as I held back her hair and flushed the toilet. She giggled when she saw me, bared her fangs, and shut her eyes.

"Are you going to pass out again?" I asked, anxious.

"No, I'm sleeping. Whatever Ryan gave me is weirding me out." Her mind held an image of a round pill with a design on it – ecstasy. I suppressed a growl. I was sure this was the same Ryan who had nearly taken her at Jason Smearth's party.

I heard someone's thoughts downstairs, matching mine almost perfectly, and stood quickly, washing my hands in the basin.

"Em, will you watch her for a moment?" I asked.

He agreed in his head, and I walked downstairs, searching for the person who had been thinking about giving Alex ecstasy. I found him smoking a cigarette by the drinks, flirting with a girl who looked around 12 years old. He looked around 23. I growled, and approached him.

I turned to the side and pretended to get myself a drink, while leaning in and growling in his ear. "If you give Alex anything like that ever again, your body will be so beyond repair it would be easier to snort than the cocaine you do weekly."

He stared at me blankly. I bared my teeth and hissed, realizing the fangs would make it even more obvious of what I actually was. He took a step back and removed his hand from the young girl's thigh. "Hey man, I was just fooling around."

"And if you ever fool around like that again you'll regret it." I sneered. I turned away and raced back up to Alex.

"_She's gone to sleep"_. Emmet thought, eyeing me as I bent down to stroke her face.

"You should go home, I'll stay with her." I instructed him. He nodded, and jumped out the window.

She was beautiful; I had to admit, even curled up around the toilet looking tired and sick. I knew she wouldn't ignore me, even if I did my best to pretend she didn't exist. She wasn't shy like other people that had tried to find their way into our exclusive lives, she was rebellious, and outgoing, and beautiful, and fit, and too observant.

I was used to the observant ones who detected something different in my family to be the quiet, thoughtful ones – unlike her. I watched her in her dreamless sleep, occasionally shifting her head to a more comfortable position on the tile floor.

Finally she woke up, her mischievous green eyes still glazed, but a bit clearer, albeit more tired.

"Edward?" She muttered trying to sit up. "I'm not going to vomit again, I feel b-b-b-better." She yawned on the last word, and fought her closing eyelids with a grin, her ridiculous fangs sticking out unevenly. "I think I'll go to bed, you can join me or go or whatever…"

I picked her up and carried her to her bed, folding back the covers and laying her underneath them, fighting the urge to lie down beside her. I settled by propping myself up on my elbow on top of the covers facing her radiant body.

She woke herself up a moment later and falling forward she uttered quietly, "Sorry." and was soon asleep.

As she said that, her sweet citrus scent rolled over me, my face basking in the pleasure of it. It was like no scent I had ever encountered before, instead of making me hungry to drain her, it made me hungry in _different _ways. I was intoxicated by it.

I could see in her mind a dream forming – I was in the centre of it, as usual. Her mind travelled to inappropriate places as always, and I found myself enjoying it rather than being repulsed.

I was much too attached to this human. What would I do if she found out? For surely, if she had gotten this far by herself it was only a matter of time before she figured out everything…


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga_

I awoke with the sound of the rain, pattering on my shut window. Or perhaps it was simply because I really had to pee. Whatever the reason, my eyes were soon snapped open, and whizzing around the room despite protests from my aching head.

I felt like my brain had been steamrolled, flat and sore. I rolled to face the centre of my room and was thoroughly surprised.

Edward was standing, still as a rock, on the mahogany floor, staring at me intently.

"Well, hello there." I said, wincing at the volume of my voice.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked in his sexily serene voice.

"I can't really remember. I can't remember much from last night at all, but I gather from my hangover that I had the Halloween party." I tried to remember what had passed, a couple images of me curled around the toilet floated through my brain. Another thought occurred then, which would explain Edward being here. "Wait, did we…" My voice trailed off suggestively.

"No, we did not get involved in any activities like that." He said before my sentence was even out.

"Damn." I muttered. "Although, if we had been busy, I would have preferred to remember it, anyways."

"I stayed here to ensure that you wouldn't vomit again, or do anything…rash" He explained, lowering his eyes.

I was touched. I was only ever horny and annoying around him, and yet he had stayed here to make sure I didn't get hurt. "Wow, thanks Edward, that's incredible thoughtful. Most guys would just take advantage of me when I'm wasted, and have in the past."

He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Yes, you said something like that last night to Emmet and me."

"Oh. Emmet was here? That's nice." I said, pulling back the covers and stepping out of bed, stretching my long legs.

"Yes. You seemed _pleased_ to see him." For some reason Edward's voice had an edge, and his nostrils flared.

I noticed then that I was in my pajamas; I hadn't thought myself capable of putting on clothes while drunk – only removing them.

"Emmet and I put you in those, Carlisle said over the phone that you would sleep better away from your vomit." He explained, looking away as though hiding embarrassment.

I smirked. "I bet you enjoyed that."

He laughed too. "Only as much as I should have."

"I'm sure." I murmured walking over to my closet.

"Okay, a little more than appropriate." He said lightly.

"Good." I answered as I pulled out a high waisted light green skirt and dark purple high neck sleeveless shirt. I went to my drawer, grabbed underwear and a bra – Edward looked pointedly away – and walked to my bathroom.

"You prude." I called from inside the bathroom.

Once I had peed, I washed my hands, brushed my teeth, stripped, and stepped into the shower. I was pro at quick showers, having had lots of experience in places with water shortages.

Once I was done, I put on my clothes, pulled my wet tangled hair in a messy bun, and stepped out of the bathroom.

"You're still here." I stated, shocked.

He shrugged then spoke sarcastically. "I was making sure you wouldn't slip in the shower or something."

I rolled my eyes, but bit my full lip in a sly smile. "You just wanted an excuse to walk in on me naked."

He raised his symmetrical chin arrogantly, "I really doubt it."

I sighed, still marveling at the fact that he had been considerate enough to stay over night and not rape me. I walked downstairs and motioned for him to follow me.

In the kitchen I cut up a banana and blueberries, and poured those on top of granola, with hemp, ground flaxseed and oat milk. I sat down on a stool at the island in the kitchen, and returned my gaze to Edward.

"Do you want some food?" I asked, recalling that I had never seen him eat anything.

"No, thank you." He murmured, sitting across from me and resting his forearms on the granite countertop.

"Manorexic" I mumbled. He chuckled and picked up an apple, and scrutinized it as though looking for an imperfection.

_I _scrutinized his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked older and more tired than usual. "Did you sleep at all? I mean; I'm sure you're aware that I have no problem sharing my bed with you." I added with a seductive smile.

He shook his head minutely, a peculiar expression on his face. "No, it was much more interesting to watch you."

"Creeper."

He smirked and returned the apple to the fruit bowl looking thoughtful. "What do you remember from last night?"

I grabbed a glass of water, as I knew the said alcohol had dehydrated me. "Well, I remember Jessica, Ang, Lauren, Tyler, and Mike came over first. Then we were playing I Never. And…hmmm, I think more people came. Oh yeah, someone was wearing a canary costume, but they wouldn't let me kiss them cause of the fangs."

We both laughed at that memory. "Then I was dancing for a while, then Ryan came, and I was really toast by then, so he gave me like some pain killer or something. Then I remember you standing over me with Emmet, mm that was hot."

He sighed. "Yes, you seemed to enjoy that."

"Then, um, I was dancing with you, oh yeah to Closer. God, I'm a slut." I said, grinning.

"Yes, that was rather interesting. I had heard stories of you drunk, but that was more than I had expected." Edward said speculatively.

"Then I just remember barfing everywhere. I'm so sorry about you having to deal with that, hopefully you can block out that memory in the future." I grimaced, but was shocked by his smug expression. I looked at him quizzically.

"I'd rather not block out that memory, actually, you said some very interesting things." He explained with eyes twinkling wickedly.

I waited for him to elaborate, but he just gazed out the bay window and into the green foliage.

"And…what did I say?" I asked curious, albeit excited; I didn't really care what he had heard from me drunk, but it was still odd for him to know more about what I had said than myself.

"No way, I'm keeping that memory for myself." He said still looking conceited.

"And Emmet knows." I pointed out, taking a bite of my food.

His face went blank with a hint of horror on it. "Ah, shit. Sorry Alex, I have to go, I'll see you on Monday."

I had never heard him swear, and it sounded beautiful in his alluring voice.

"You're probably as bad an influence on me as I am on you." He said, standing up. I was always shocked by his height. And muscles. And the attraction he held for me. And just him in general.

"Probably. The only way you influence me in a "bad" way, is that you make me think and do inappropriate things. It's not really your fault, though." I said, attempting to pick up a blueberry with my spoon.

"If only you knew how I was influencing you, Alex. No, it's probably better that you don't." He explained.

"You're so cryptic." I accused lightly.

He ignored that. "If you should feel sick at all or anything, call me on this number." There was suddenly a piece of paper in his white hand. I accepted it, and put it in my pocket.

I walked with him to the front of my house and turned to him at the door. "Thanks Edward, all I've done since I met you is basically try to get you out of your designer clothes and into my pants, and here you've been considerate enough – despite that – to make sure I didn't snuff it in my own vomit. So thank you, really."

He looked at me like I was on crack, and placed his long hand on the door handle. "It would have been callous for me to leave you any other way than this. Goodbye Alex."

He was out the door the next moment, leaving me with an aching head and scheming mind.

Lunch on Monday was full of babble. The topics flew between reviews of my party, an upcoming dance, and a trip to the beach that was planned for the upcoming weekend. Somehow students managed to find far-fetched correlations between the three, leaving focus on other subjects to a minimum.

I had already been invited to the dance by many boys. All of them looked hopeful and scared stiff, and left looking disappointed and puzzled. I had declined all of their invitations – not because I couldn't dance; far from it – but because it was much more enjoyable to migrate from group to group of dancers – and to of course start the groups.

In Art I took my usual seat, and flashed Edward a bright smile. I was pleased when he returned a crooked one. Wow.

Mr. Kettel had entered the room by then, and demanded the class's attention.

"Children, children, I dreamt last night of focus. So today I want us all to be silent as we pursue our course and venture in the realm of art."

He continued to explain his epiphany, while setting up a print of A Starry Night for us to copy.

I absentmindedly began to sketch out the landscape, while my mind was annoyed at the teacher for ceasing any possible conversation with Edward. Then a thought struck me – I had my phone in my bright yellow skinny jean pocket, and his number programmed in it.

I inconspicuously pulled out my phone, turned it on vibrate, and began a new text.

_You're looking well._

I sent the innocent message, and was pleased to see him reach into his light wash denim pocket a moment later and retrieve his iPhone.

I felt the vibrations in my pocket in an instant, and grinning about the feelings his text message was giving me, read the message.

_As are you, of course. Is there another motivation for you to text me, other than to compliment me upon my mundane appearance?_

I quickly typed in my reply, exultant at our new form of impersonal communication.

_Mundane appearance? Far from it, Edward – I'm sure over half the girls are drooling all over their Starry Nights' while admiring your goods clad in Abercrombie. And why should a friend need another motivation to text another other than to compliment them?_

I saw him sneer in distaste at my first comment as his fingers flew over the touch screen in reply.

_You're sense of humour still mystifies me. How is it a young, apparently "innocent" girl like you can produce such insubordinate thoughts?_

I hit the touch screen reply before my mobile even began to vibrate.

_It's a talent. Are you not at all acquiescent with it?_

His reply was short.

_That depends on what exactly the thoughts are containing…_

I frowned, hoping to persuade him to elaborate.

_Won't you go into detail on that? You know how your opinions are important to me._

I had intended to flatter him, but he seemed more perturbed than cajoled by my obsession with him. His eyes darkened, and his elegant hand shook around the graphite pencil he was grasping.

_If you had an ounce of self-preservation they wouldn't matter to you. _

I wanted to keep the conversation light until we had a more private place to discuss this, so my reply was teasing.

_Stop trying to act all dark and mysterious, Edward. I know you're just avoiding sleeping with me because you're worried I'll tell everyone how small you are._

He looked stunned as he re-read the message and typed a furious, albeit befuddled reply.

_What? What would insinuate that assumption?_

I smirked as I had successfully moved us on to a less serious topic.

_Because that is all guys think about._

My reply was simple, but his was even more so.

_True._


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Saga.

I wasn't able to continue my conversations with Edward for the rest of the week, as he was absent everyday. When I had pointed out his prolonged absence to Angela she assumed that his family had gone hiking due to the sunny weather.

This seemed plausible as his family was also absent. I guessed that he had gone to some place without service, as my texts and call went unanswered. I wasn't too worried, as I had homework and dance to keep me more than busy, but I was missing my daily hit of eye candy. For he truly was my drug now, I was addicted to him. I doubted that I possessed any feelings beyond friendship for him, but this was more than just a hot guy who had caught my wicked eye. Our relationship was bizarre, and I loved it! I just wanted it to go a little further…

My distraction on Saturday was manifested in the form of a trip to La Push beach, at the Quillieute Reservation.

I met 8 of my fellow classmates in the early afternoon, and we drove the 15 miles in Mike's suburban, winding down the rarely sunlight road.

The beach was crescent shaped, and full of multi coloured rocks. Occasionally the thousands of stones would elongate and morph into long stretches of sandstone, with tidal pools scattered around.

Our group wandered over to a natural border of stone, and we parked our bags and food there. After a few hours of eating, joking, wading through the water up to the rim of my short yellow shorts, we returned to our bags, and I withdrew a stuffed sock and Ziploc bag out of my tote.

People were gathering around a driftwood fire that Mike was building. The sun was setting and lustrous on the sparkling surface of the water. I was used to this beauty though; apart from being an amazing city, Vancouver was surrounded by the Pacific, the mountains, and hordes of temperate rain forests.

I sat down next to Mike, and picked up the lighter he was using to ignite the fire. From my mysteriously stuffed sock I produced my glass pipe, and carefully tipped some of the weed in the Ziploc into it. Holding the pipe in one hand, with my thumb covering the small whole at the side, I flicked the lighter and held it to the drug, inhaling. Still inhaling, I then slowly removed my thumb, and after a few more long seconds I removed it from my lips. Still swallowing it as much as possible, I passed it to Mike who nearly dropped it in his haste to get a hit.

After we had used up most of what was in the plastic bag, I stowed it carefully back into my larger bag, and walked over to a tidal pool. The others were mostly pot virgins, so they didn't get much of a buzz. I wasn't though, so the familiar tingling sensation ran through my body, and I almost immediately got hungry. I giggled a little as my brain took in my surroundings in a new way.

I sat and watched the undulating sea life for a while, imagining eating my favourite deep fried foods. Once it was dark, I returned to the fire, and saw that some teenagers from the reservation had joined our group.

We were introduced though I, being terrible with names, forgot all of them immediately. Most of the people wanted to walk to some bluffs, but I remained with a few others, feeling lightheaded and hungry.

One of the students from the reservation who looked about my age sauntered over to me then, taking a seat on the log I was occupying. I picked up a bag of chips before turning to him.

"Hey, I'm Jacob Black, you must be Alex Xeno."

"Yeahhh…Hey there, sweety." I drawled, chomping on the sodium filled garbage.

He looked bemused, and tied his long black unfairly shiny hair in a ponytail.

"Sorry," I began, but was soon distracted by a passing moth. A few minutes later I returned to this Jacob who seemed so absorbed by me. "I'm a little hehehe-high. What was your name again?"

"Jacob." He flashed his uneven white teeth, not looking annoyed by my ridicule. "Our parents used to go to college; I think we met when we were like 5."

"Oh right, that's nice." I returned to my chips. I could tell he was trying to pitifully flirt, but I really wanted food, and I wasn't interested in him. At all.

I glanced over at Tyler, who was sitting next to Lauren by the fire. He was pretty fit, I guess, but he had definitely looked better drunk. Lauren caught my staring, her eyes, cold, and her words even more so.

"Alex, didn't anyone think to invite the Cullens? Or at least Edward?" What was up her ass? I had noticed her acting slightly more cold towards me ever since she found out I got with Tyler, but this was unnecessary. I knew she wanted to make me uncomfortable, so I grinned at her and replied easily.

"I was going to, but I didn't have a chance, as he's been away all week – I gave him mono I think." I answered easily, as I noticed both her and Jacob looked slightly shocked.

The oldest of the Quillieute teens walked over – Sam I remember his name was. "The Cullens don't come here."

I frowned at his words; he had delivered them in a way as though they weren't permitted on the property.

Others would probably have been too shy or intimidated by Sam's cool commanding stance, but I was never one to have tact in situations. I loved pushing the boundaries. "Why's that? There's something to be said for eye-candy, _I _think."

Sam continued looking forward, but eventually his narrowed eyes strayed to me. I giggled, still a little stoned. His expression was hard, and his hands looked as though they were shaking with his suppressed anger. "They do not come here." He repeated menacingly.

I leaned over to Jacob, and whispered loudly. "Odd bloke, that guy, I'm guessing he hasn't gotten laid in a while."

Jacob gave an unsteady laugh, looking worried. I was curious about Sam's reaction to the Cullen's being here, so I did what I do so well.

Leaning forward to give Jacob a view of my chest in my magenta halter top, I placed a playful smile on my face, rested my hand lightly on his thigh, and spoke to him. "Want to go for a walk?"

He nodded, and attempted to stutter an answer. Really. We walked along the clattering stones and onto the sandstone until we encountered a large tidal pool. I sat on the ground, and let my hand skim the top of the water.

"So, what did your friend Sam mean about the Cullen's not coming here?" I casually asked.

"Um…well, they aren't supposed to, really. But we aren't supposed to talk about it, either." He said, tossing lose stones in the water.

I untied my long hair, and shook it out, squeezing my arms together to accentuate my chest as I leaned over with a playful smile. "Won't you tell me? I can keep a secret.'

He bit his lip deliberating, finally seeming to give up. "Okay, it's like a myth, which some of the people – my dad, Sam, et cetera – think is true.

I nodded for him to continue. "Well, apparently the Quilleutes are descendents of wolves – or werewolves."

"Nice." I murmured, feeding a piece of seaweed to an anenami.

"Well these werewolves have one enemy: the cold ones." He tried to make his voice menacing, but failed miserably.

"That's all fine and dandy, but how do the Cullens get worked into this?" I asked impatiently.

He seemed to sense that I wasn't here for his story telling. "Well, the Cullens are the same cold ones that my great-grandfather met, apparently. He was the chief of the tribe then, and he made a treaty with them never to go on our land, and they wouldn't expose them to the white man. Usually the wolves would fight the cold ones, but these ones apparently didn't hunt humans."

I was happy he had summarized it – I just wanted to find out what Edward was. "And what are the cold ones? I'm not exactly familiar with the term." I smiled at him to lighten the mood.

"Vampires." He said, his voice raising the hair on my arms.

"Ah. That's an interesting story Jacob, thanks." I said, standing up.

"Anytime. It looks like your group is heading back; I'll see you around sometime. I think my dad wants to visit your family soon, it's been like a decade."

"True." I said with a laugh, and walked back to my bag.

We piled into Mike's suburban like we had on our way here, but this time my head was full of Edward conspiracies. A vampire! Imagine that…

The following day I waited on the front steps of my house, basking in the dwindling sunshine. I could tell the vitamin D supplying days were numbered, so I sat on the porch with my eyes shut, listening rather than looking for Jessica's approaching car. She, Angela and I had planned a dress shopping evening in Port Angeles for the upcoming dance.

I heard tires crunching the pavement, and a flash of headlights whispered behind my eyelids. I stood up, grabbed my purse and climbed in the car.

The ride to Port Angeles was about an hour long, and was filled with constant babbling – courtesy of Jessica mostly. Mike had asked her to the dance, and they were planning a dinner date before that. I didn't tell her that he had asked me first. Angela was going with Ben, and although I had seen definite chemistry between them, they had both been too shy to plan anything around it.

I already had a dress that I had been planning on wearing, but I would try on things, and hope that something new would catch my eye – not that there was much choice. This was proven correct, as we entered the only dress store blocks from the picturesque boardwalk in the town. There wasn't much selection, and we each found a few items quickly.

I decided on wearing the dress I owned, but I bought a pair of stilettos to go with it. Angela settled on a long pale dress and Jessica with a bright strappy one. They wanted to walk up to the one department store to look for make-up, while I was more inclined to check out the boutiques along the boardwalk, so we decided to meet up at an Italian restaurant in an hour.

I wasn't exactly sure where the boardwalk was, but I knew the vague direction, so I began walking. After a half hour of tricky navigation, I finally found the pier. Most of the shops were closing as it was getting dark, but I looked curiously inside the few remaining ones.

I decided I would have to begin looking for the restaurant as I only knew the cross streets, and not how to get there, and walked back onto the main street. I turned onto a few random streets, completely lost, but not admitting it to myself. I wanted to call Jessica for directions, but realized I had left my phone in my bedroom.

"Fuck." I muttered to myself, and pulled my pleather jacket tighter around my slight frame. It was beginning to get chilly.

A few blocks later into the semi industrial part of town, I noticed the sun had almost set completely behind the horizon, so my shadow became absurdly elongated. If I hadn't been thinking about this, I wouldn't have noticed the other shadows that joined mine. What they were outlining were the figures of four people, quietly tailing my footsteps. I had lived in the city, and knew to keep looking forward, remain weary, but not give them my attention.

I thrust my chin forward, picked up my pace, and straitened my already perfect posture. The shadows also began to speed up, not bothering to remain silent now that they knew I knew of their existence.

At the next crossing lane I aimed to turn, but there was a dead end, so I quickly retraced my steps and headed for the next one. It was too far, my stalkers were only meters away, and so I turned around, flexing my capable biceps.

"Ryan!" I cried, shocked. "You fucking scared me half to death. I thought you guys were stalkers or rapists."

It was Ryan, and three other men, leering at me in the now completely dark alley. None of them appeared to make a greeting; instead they stepped closer to me, glancing excitedly at each other.

I bit my lip, but stood my ground firmly. "What are you doing?" I tried to keep my voice casual, but it sounded more like an accusation.

Ryan finally stood right in front of me, he reeked of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot in his unshaven face.

"Hey babe." He leered at me, grabbing my shoulders, and shoving me into the wall behind me. My head smacked against the bricks.

"Hey babe." The others imitated him, and strode towards me. I felt like they were stealing my oxygen as well as invading my space.

I was rather confused by the odd greeting, but ignored it, trying to play the ignorant blonde.

"So what's u" –

Ryan cut off my sentence with a rough kiss, smashing my head against the wall again. He let my lips go with the reverberating sound of my head on the building, and busied himself with my neck. I had cried out when my head hit the wall, and the other men took encouragement from that.

One of his cronies approached me, and ripped off my expensive jacket. The light t-shirt I was wearing underneath also ripped at the stomach.

The grueling dance training had not only paid off for looking good in a tutu, I also was exceptional at self defense. I pushed the offensive man off of me, but not before making him suffer a blow under the left side of his jaw.

"Fuck, Ryan, your little bitch is a fighter." The assaulter's eyes were malevolent.

Some abstract part of my mind noticed Ryan begin to lunge at my shoulder with his teeth, while the rest of it was mainly focused on another one of his friends who was advancing on me, and groping his hand up my left thigh.

Using the leg he was feeling up, I shoved my knee in his groin, earning a yelp of pain and a slap in the face.

I gasped at the unsuspected stinging sensation, and punched the man in the nose. Hard; I heard it crack.

The other two guys joined my latest victim, crowding around me, touching me, and hitting me.

"Fuck!" I yelled, the fear taking over. "Ryan, what are you doing? What are _they_ doing?"

I began to lash out violently at all of them. Mostly they would just hit or kick back harder, but occasionally I would hear a cry in pain or curse.

It reminded me of one summer afternoon in Vancouver. I was five at the time, and walking innocently outside I had encountered two neighbour cats attempting to tear apart a monarch butterfly. I had instinctively grabbed the cats, pried opened their mouths, and let the beautiful fluttering insect escape. I had been worried that with the lack of dust on its wings it would be incapacitated, but it had flown off unharmed.

I was the butterfly now. But who would be my savior?

Ryan was trying to undo the complex buckles on my belt. I pulled back my arm, about to punch him, when headlights flew around the corner.

I expected my attackers to be surprised by the new addition, but instead they fought my attempts at an escape, and pinned me even closer to the wall.

They seemed worried that the person or persons in the car would notice they're behaviour sooner or later, so they quickly fought to undo the fly on my jeans, and began to tug at my pants.

We were not alone.

Suddenly Edward was standing behind them, looking dashing and terrifying all at once. He towered over them, his face almost luminous in the dark alley.

"Edward." I tried to grin in relief at him, and felt a wincing sensation in my jaw.

He barely seemed to notice me; his eyes were practically burning holes in the guys' heads.

"Let her go, if you want your heads to be facing the same direction as the rest of your accursed bodies at your funeral." He uttered. His voice was so antagonistic it raised the hair on the back of my exposed neck.

One of them stepped towards him, while the others remained blocking me from his Volvo. "Why should we? Go fuck yourself in the car your daddy bought you, punk."

I didn't see what Edward had done, as it was at an inhuman speed, but suddenly the man was lying face down on the pavement. I couldn't tell if he was breathing.

Ryan and the other two took a hesitant step away from me, and I squirmed out of their circle, and sprinted to the passenger seat in the Volvo. Once in the car I took some long meditative breaths, trying to figure out if I was injured. There was nothing visible, but my body ached all over.

I returned my attention to the sexy demonic figure in front of the windshield, and the others, practically cowering in his shadow. Edward seemed to be having an inward battle; he was completely stationary, except for his hands which kept almost reaching out, then returning to his sides clenched in fists of stone.

His moral side seemed to lose, and he strode forward towards Ryan, his triceps clenched. I saw what he did this time, as I was paying acute attention, but it was still impossibly fast. And powerful. And terrifying. The punch that he threw at the burly football player sent him flying across the street, and he landed in a heap on the ground.

I gasped. This seemed to distract Edward from his other intentions – the other two still conscious attackers. He straitened his back, and slowly turned towards me, his expression unfathomable and terrifying…


End file.
